Yami Groupies
by xxxmxxx
Summary: Yami, Bakura and Melvin are members of the new popular Rock Band - The Millennium Kings. To celebrate their successful first year tour the band holds a competition for three lucky fans to get to meet them behind stage. But when you fall in love with idols you have to be prepared to deal with their groupies.
1. Chapter 1

Welcomes! :)

This is an attempt to write a fanfic in a AU without magic! It's proving to be rather difficult!

Our Yami's - Yami, Bakura and Melvin are members of the new popular rock bank! ^.^

((Melvin = Yami Marik))

Later chapters may contain mature topics - I shall give out warnings as needed

* * *

After five failed attempts at gently turning off his alarm, Ryou instead tossed it across the room and rolled back over to fall back to sleep, only for his mobile to choose to start ringing instead. For a split moment he was tempted to throw his phone as well but decided that explaining to his father that he needed a new phone due to lack of sleeping and a growing hatred towards alarms, would not be a pleasant conversation. Slowly sitting up, he slid his finger across the screen to answer before quickly pulling it away from his ear as he was greeted by loud excitable screaming. Sighing, he pressed the loud speaker as he climbed out of bed to get dressed, Yuugi's voice filling his room:

"Ryou-kun were you still sleeping? Sorry if I woke you but I couldn't wait till school to tell you!" he didn't sound sorry at all and Ryou just responded with a small laugh to let him know he was listening. Usually mornings didn't bother him this much but he'd argued with his father late into the night and hadn't slept much as a result. "You do sound tired though"

Leave it to Yuugi to pick up on things so easily.

"I'll tell you about it in class" Ryou replied as he sat on his bed and worked on getting the tangles out his hair, "Now why were you screaming when I answered?"

"Oh!" Yuugi gasped, making Ryou laugh slightly at how easily his friend could get distracted when he was concerned about his friends, "Remember that competition we all entered? Well the one Marik entered under all our names?". Ryou frowned a little as he tried to remember. Marik had the habit of coming up with crazy ideas though so it was a little difficult to try and pin down a specific one. Yuugi seemed to sense this as he laughed and continued on, "Anyway my name was chosen. I won three V.I.P backstage tickets to The Millennium Kings concert next week"

Again screaming filled his room while Ryou sat staring at his phone with wide eyes, his gaze shifting to the poster that was stuck to his door, colour filling his cheeks at the thought of getting to meet the band.

"Yuugi?" he whispered, picking up his phone and taking off the loudspeaker, "Remind me to kiss Marik for this"

"He might like that a little too much. I'll come walk you to school since I'm awake this early"

"Alright. I'll make some pancakes then"

Smiling at the excited little squeak, Ryou hung up and finally allowed his own little yelp of excitement break through, his gaze falling back over to his poster, a gift from Marik a few weeks ago. The Millennium Kings were a relevantly new band who had quickly gained in popularity. They sung a variety of styles so no matter your particular music taste there was usually at least one of their songs that people enjoyed. The band consisted of three members, lead guitarist and background singer Bakura, bass guitarist Melvin and lead vocalist Yami. Ryou's poster was promotional work for the concert he now had tickets for, consisting of a large throne in the center of the page with Yami sitting looking somewhat bored, Bakura leaning against the throne to his right and Melvin to his left, both with wicked grins that just about promised that they were up to no good. All three were dressed up like 'Kings' and dripping in gold and silver. It was a really nice looking poster and Marik had been lucky to grab a copy for all of them. Still, it was little nerve racking to think he'd have the chance to meet them all in just a week's time! Smiling and feeling more awake that he previously had, he grabbed his bag and skipped down the stairs to start on those promised pancakes, turning on the radio and smirking as the song playing just happened to be by The Millennium Kings, one of their soft rock songs.

Rolling up his sleeves, he turned to start making the pancakes, being careful not to spill anything on his uniform. The clock beside the kitchen window let him know it had just passed seven in the morning making him think that Marik must have changed the times on his alarm clock the last time he'd slept over. Maybe he could be let off this once though. Fifteen minutes later and he was placing out the cooked pancakes onto two plates, smiling a little as Yuugi half stumbled into the kitchen.

"You sure you're awake?" he asked as he took his seat across from the one Yuugi was half slumped in. Picking up at the syrup he helped himself to a decent amount before starting to eat. It was rare he was awake early enough these days to have breakfast. Maybe he wouldn't fall to sleep in class today. He continued to watch Yuugi as his friend slowly came out his daze and started to attack his own pile of pancakes.

"Yeah. After I phoned you I was almost tempted to go back to sleep" he paused to take a drink of the orange juice Ryou had just poured out, "But the promise of pancakes kept me going! Jii-chan was surprised to see me up so early but once I told him what had happened he seemed pleased" he smiled brightly before frowning and swinging back on his chair, "Let's not tell Anzu. You know how crazy she is about Yami. I honestly believe she'd try to rob us". Ryou gave a weak laugh even if he was aware of the truth behind the warning but the chances of Marik not letting anything slip at school were close to zero and both of them were aware of that.

"Do you want me to keep the tickets here? I'm sure she'd never think on me having them" Ryou suggested as he took their empty plates and set them next to the sink. Dishes could wait till after school was done. Yuugi was regarding him carefully before finally he nodded and handed over an envelope that contained the winning tickets. Smiling at the serious look on his friends face, Ryou took the tickets and walked back upstairs, carefully opening the door to the one room that no one other than him was ever permitted to enter.

Amane's room had not been touched ever since she'd passed away. A room designed for a small ten year old girl that now served as Ryou's sanctuary. After they had came back from the hospital his parents out right refused to go into the bedroom. His mother would break down even being near the door and his father almost refused to believe that his sister was gone. That night had torn his family apart at the seams but he could never be mad at her. Even if she was gone, Amane was still his little sister, still an important part of his life and was the last member of his family he still felt any type of connection with. He knew no one would enter her room without his permission. Even Yuugi had only been inside once and they'd been close friends for a while now. With a small smile he crossed over to the chest of drawers and placed the tickets in under a pair of pajamas before taking a seat on the edge of his sister's bed and silently reflecting on the thoughts passing through his mind. It was a habit he had whenever he came here but he knew if he stayed there for much longer Yuugi would start worrying about him.

"I'll come visit you later" he smiled and pulled himself to his feet, "Look after those tickets for us". With one last glance around the lilac room, he carefully closed the door and took a deep calming breath, not too surprised to find Yuugi sitting on the top stair waiting for him. "Ready to go then?" he asked, Ryou smiling before nodding, "Let's go get Marik". Hopefully before he told Anzu was the silent end to his sentence that hung heavy in the air as both boys set off towards the school.

* * *

Seto Kaiba was not a patient man. When he wanted something done, it was done with no questions asked. If he wanted to go somewhere then he went. He had never been one to sit around waiting. Money could be thrown at an issue and the problem was likely to be solved and quickly too. However today was one of those rare occasions when that was not the case and as he sat in the airport listening to his cousin arguing with his uncle and trying to ignore as his little brother reached the end of his juice cartoon and loudly sucked at the air, he had to wonder if this was some type of test of how long he could take all this nonsense before he just snapped. His laptop laid inside the limo waiting outside for them and the longer this went on without some type of distraction the stronger the itch got in his throat, to either shout about how stupid this all was or just to tell Mokuba to stop sucking on his darn straw!

By the silence that had taken over the entire terminal and by the puppy dog eyes Mokaba was giving him that he'd said his last thought out loud. Least things were finally silent now though. "Are we finally done then?" he asked, glancing towards where his uncle and cousin stood and ignoring Mokuba for now. Both of them seemed tense but neither was arguing anymore so hopefully that would mean they could finally leave. And here he'd thought Melvin would be the troublemaker. Patience now truly gone, he shot each of them a glare before walking towards the exit with Mokuba right behind him, juice carton thankfully having been disposed of. Approaching the limo he wasn't surprised to find Bakura leaning against the side, arms crossed and looking as though he may be dozing though he looked up as he heard the approaching footsteps, pulling down the sunglasses he wore and glaring towards them.

"What kept you guys so fucking long?"

"Family issues" Seto snapped back, "No one said you had to wait...how did you avoid drawing attention? You stick out a mile away"

"Your guards" he shrugged, reaching back to open the door as yelling broke through the car park, Seto climbing in silently, hoping that this was about to signal another delay. They were suppose to have gotten back to the mansion almost an hour ago now. Melvin was in his mansion alone with only a handful of guards to stop him getting up to too much trouble. Mokuba climbed in after him and pulled out his phone as they waited for the others. Now in the limo though, Seto was able to thankfully pull out his laptop and happily lose himself in some paperwork. All this babysitting was beginning to give him a headache, especially as he now had to deal with an angry uncle who was apparently not taking no for an answer. Deciding he'd rather leave Yami and Bakura to their own devices and deal with the PR backlash later, he reached over and closed the door again to block out most of the sound.

"We agreed that I was allowed to stay with Seto when I got back home" Yami was hissing. His rather distinctive hairstyle had been pulled back in a high ponytail that hung just above his shoulders, crimson eyes currently narrowed in anger towards the man who barred his way, "What's with the sudden act of fathery care?"

"As I have been trying to explain your mother and I have changed our mind" he frowned, aware of the small crowd that was now beginning to gather, gaze lingering onto Bakura who gave a short wave, "Yami just come home with me"

"No" he sighed and ducked around his father, Bakura opening the door for him "Tell mother not to worry. I'll still send money her way" he sighed and ducked inside, followed by Bakura who slammed the door shut behind him, Seto glancing up from his screen before motioning for the driver to head off towards the mansion. Yami sat with his arms folded, staring intently outside while Bakura laid across the other side of the seats. No one had ever pretended his job was going to be easy but painting this troubled band to be picture perfect to the public required a heck more effort than he'd first thought.

"Wish to inform me what all this has been about?" he finally asked, Yami glancing across for a moment before returning his attention back to outside. Not one to push for answers Seto returned back to his laptop, only glancing back up when his cousin finally decided to share what was on his mind.

"Mother wants me to go back home. So I can meet the girl she's decided I've to marry"


	2. Chapter 2

Enjoys! :)

* * *

School had proven to be more even more of an annoyance than usual. By the time he and Ryou had arrived it seemed as though Marik had told half of the school about the winning tickets. Yuugi had explained over and over again that he was taking Marik and Ryou and that no he wasn't going to change his mind, no he wasn't willing to sell the tickets and no he hadn't cheated. Ryou and Marik hadn't escaped the annoying questions but had gotten off lightly compared to him. Even their teacher had held him back after school to ask if he wanted to sell the tickets. He was glad Ryou had the sense to keep the tickets at his house now as he wasn't putting it past anyone to mug him at his point. Sighing, he leant back against the wall as he waited on his friends. Their last class had been P.E and Ryou was always last out.

"Hey, so I'm thinking it may not have been so bright to tell everyone we'd won" Marik laughed as he sat down, Yuugi gazing down at him before shrugging. There was no real point in getting upset with him now. It would have been difficult for them to hide that they'd won anyway since he had to call tonight and tell the organiser who he was actually taking with him so they could have tickets printed in their names. The organisers wanted to run background checks on all three winners. It was a condition that Marik had apparently agreed to when he'd entered. As long as their pasts, especially Ryou's wasn't about to be paraded around in public then Yuugi saw no issues. Marik's clan was surrounded in mystery and if anyone managed to find information about them he'd be amazed and Yuugi himself had a pretty normal, boring past.

"It's fine" he sighed as he realised Marik was still waiting on an answer, "I have to give our names to the organiser tonight and she'd mentioned they may appear in the media. I doubt we'd have been able to hide it for much longer" he shrugged and pushed himself off the wall as Ryou finally joined them, his friend rubbing at his upper arm, frowning slightly before smiling weakly at Marik's questioning look.

"It's nothing" he started, Marik's glare growing more intense, "Marik…"

"If you're being bullied…"

"Like I said it's nothing" he smiled and started hurrying down the street, "Come on we're going to be late"

"Drop it" Yuugi sighed, giving a weak smile to Marik who looked as though he was going to argue but quickly closed his mouth and fell into step with Yuugi, allowing Ryou to lead the way towards the burger world where they had arranged to meet the others. It was a little surprising to see Marik fall silent as easily as he had but hopefully that was just because he was in a good mood. The smile was back on his face and a bounce back in his step as they walked into the car park, Ryou pausing to pull out his phone that had been ringing for the last few minutes and sighing at the screen. Curious, Yuugi and Marik hurried over, peering over his shoulder at the ID.

"Your father?" Yuugi frowned and gazed up towards Ryou's worried expression, "Have you spoken to him recently?"

"No" he watched the screen till it faded back to black before springing into life again, "Though he's never been this determined before either"

"Maybe you should answer then" Yuugi shrugged before pulling back at the glare he received, "Just meaning… look he's not about to give up. You talk to him. I'll go let the others know we're here...Marik can stay with you?"

"...alright" he sighed, glancing at Marik who shrugged and lead him to the nearby benches, Yuugi pausing to watch them before he hurried inside, smiling at the welcoming warmth before hurrying to the back booth where Honda already was waiting, his friend gazing outside as he watched over Ryou and Marik.

"Worried?" Yuugi laughed as Honda jumped slightly before quickly regaining composure. Yuugi slipped into the seat across from him and stretched, "His dad's phoned him" he explained as he watched Ryou pacing around outside, Marik watching over him, "That's rarely a good thing. Especially when he's not taking no for an answer" he pulled out his homework and started to work on a few of the problems as they waited. Dwelling on what was happening outside was not going to help anyone and the more he did now the less he had to do when he got home. He was so engrossed in his work that it took Honda tossing a pencil at his head to gain his attention, Yuugi glaring up at him through his blonde bangs.

"What?" he hissed, his gaze following towards where Honda nudged his head towards and his attention at once snapping away from his homework.

Sitting about two booths away were four very noticeable teenagers, one looking like he wanted to be anywhere else but there and typing away furiously on his laptop as he listened to Yami ranting away to him in a low voice. Across from them sat Melvin, flicking through the menu and looking annoyed while Bakura sat on the outside glaring at anyone who happened to get too close to their table. He was no doubt the only reason as to why the small group of fangirls that had spotted them had taken up camp three booths down. Still, this did seem like a rather weird spot for them to go to if they wanted privacy and Yuugi almost wanted to hide as he saw Anzu strolling confidently over towards them, Bakura's glare having no effect upon her. Since she worked here though there was nothing wrong with her approaching so Bakura remained silent though Yuugi noticed him tensing.

"Good afternoon" she sang out happily, hiding her nerves well as she scanned over the four boys, Yuugi watching them carefully but trying not to be too obvious, "Are you ready to order?" she flipped out her notepad and readied her pen, all four gazing at her for a moment before Melvin sighed and slammed the menu down against the table.

"We'll take four large chicken burger meals with extra fries" he paused, "Diet cola, a strawberry milkshake, coffee, nothing in it just black like his soul and some water" he glanced at his friends as though daring them to argue with him, Anzu humming softly as she wrote down the order before polity repeating what had been said, Melvin giving a slight nod before picking up the menu again and flicking through the pages. Yuugi had to had it to Anzu. She was a pretty good actress when she needed to be.

* * *

Course she worked here. How could he had forgotten something as simple as that? It took everything inside of him not to flinch as she'd walked over, not to hide behind his menu or cousin. Instead he'd half turned his back towards her and stared intently outside, trying to ignore her voice, trying to ignore the fact she'd know that milkshake was for him, just trying to ignore everything in general really. Ever since he'd gotten back to Japan it had seemed like one thing after another. By now he was sure that Bakura was aware of why he was in such a bad mood and was surprised when he stayed silent, even as Anzu returned and served out their orders perfectly.

"If there's anything else you need just let me know" she was saying, leaning over and placing a napkin on Yami's tray before wondering quickly away. Yami sighed, feeling his friends gazing at him as he fingered at the corners of the napkin, still watching outside though as he didn't want to have to deal with any more complications or any more questions. Last night had been spent arguing with his mother after she'd called the police stating Seto had kidnapped him. The sooner the law saw him as an adult the better. It was perhaps lucky that he'd been watching outside so intently as he was the first to notice as a black van pulled up into the car park, slowly approaching the boy who'd been pacing around the bench area. Yami frowned slightly before reaching over and shaking Bakura slightly to get his attention. It seemed that it took great effort for his friend to stop glaring out at the customers and to look to where Yami was pointing, Seto and Melvin following their gaze.

"It's a van" Bakura stated, sipping on his coffee before narrowing his eyes, "Never seen one before?"

Yami just rolled his eyes a little and though Melvin and Seto quickly lost interest, he and Bakura continued to watch as the van pulled to a stop, blocking the benches from the view of the cafe. Nothing happened for a while and Yami actually began to relax a little as he spotted the pale boy he'd seen before standing a little bit away, watching the van carefully as he spoke to whoever was on the other end of the phone. His friend who'd been shadowing him the entire time Yami had been watching had now gone and gazing around the cafe he saw he was now inside with another group, who Anzu was now sitting with. She glanced up just as he was looking too, flashing him one of those smiles that he now hated.

"Yami… Yami…. OI" Bakura snapped, bringing him back to reality with a slight bump, "I'm going outside"

"Oh erm alright" he blinked a little, confused as to why he'd be telling him then realised what that meant, "Oh wait no! You're the only one keeping the others away!"

"Melvin can give just as good a death glare" Bakura shrugged, Melvin grinning.

"Ah but they love mine Kura"

Groaning with added annoyance, Yami watched as their guardian slipped outside the cafe and as soon as the door let off it's little chime to show he'd left, the fan girls who'd been hovering nearby suddenly appeared around their table, Seto slamming his laptop shut and glaring towards Melvin who shrugged innocently as he bit into his burger. That left Yami having to deal with the polite conversation then it seemed.

"Hello girls" he smiled, the mask appearing easily despite how he was feeling at the moment. Second day of being home and already he was planning his next route of escape. Melvin moved over to where Bakura had been sitting and began to talk to some of the group as Yami took the other half, both making polite conversation and giving out signatures when asked. It was only when one of the girls screamed and pointed outside that he remembered about why Bakura had gone outside. Melvin had already rushed outside, half jumping over the table to get to the door but by the time he and Yami and the group of friends that Anzu had been with got to the door the van had already left and the car park was empty. Yami, stared around the area for a moment, glancing back at Seto who had already pulled out his phone.

"Ryou!" Anzu gasped, being comforted by...well by a smaller version of Yami it seemed. He frowned, wondering slightly if she was dating someone that looked like him on purpose though quickly decided that perhaps at the moment that wasn't important.

"Crazed fangirls?" Melvin frowned, Yami shaking his head.

"They took that other boy too" he frowned more, "And must have taken out the security. You know Seto doesn't let us leave the house without stalkers"

"Bakura wouldn't have been taken down that easily either" Melvin commented and that did very little to help ease Yami's growing concerns. He could already just about hear his father ranting about the fact they had a concert in six days and Bakura just had to go and get himself kidnapped. He ran a hand through his hair, trying to ignore the fact that more people had now begun to crowd around them and trying to pay attention to what Seto was saying. Melvin, perhaps sensing that his friend was close to breaking point, ran off towards the benches, successfully managing to pull a large portion of the fanbase away as they saw he was in a much better mood than Seto or Yami. Anzu and her friends though still lingered nearby and Yami couldn't help but watch as his smaller double tried to calm Anzu down and stop an enraged blonde haired boy from running off after the van it seemed.

"Hey", it was Seto that had called out and both Yami and his double had glanced towards him, "Your friend was taken to. I'll need to ask a few questions"

"Y-yeah of course"

"Us to" the blonde snapped and Yami felt his stomach twist as he realised that of course included Anzu though perhaps it was wrong to remain mad towards her for the moment.

Seto scanned over the group before nodding and walking back inside, speaking with one of the managers as Yami lead the way around the back for them all to sit, hurrying to take the seat next to his double and the blonde before Anzu could force her way beside him. That earned him a slight glare off her for his troubles but right now he didn't care and just sat watching as the cafe around them slowly begun to empty of customers and instead fill up with bodyguards, Seto taking a seat and pulling out his laptop again.

"They took off Bakura's tracker" Seto began and started to type again, "One of the officers found it and started demanding me for answers" he sighed and rubbed at his head a little before gazing across the group, "Alright let's start with names then. You know I'm Seto. He's Yami and the one keeping the girls at bay is Melvin...though judging by the merchandise at least some of you are wearing this was all obvious"

"Erm, yeah", Yamis double took a deep breath and glanced nervous at Yami for a moment before turning back to Seto, "I'm Yuugi. The calm one is Honda, the enraged ones Jou, the next enraged one is Marik and this is Anzu".

At her name Seto frowned slightly, gazing between the upset girl and Yami before giving a slow nod, "Alright. And the boy who went missing?"

"Ryou Bakura is his full name" Yuugi sighed, "And no I have no idea who'd want to hurt him or anything like that. Ryou's been living on his own for about three years now. He's the type to avoid trouble-" he paused for a moment, him and the one named Marik looking at one another before sighing, "Unless someone else was in trouble" they both finished together, Yami smiling weakly. This Ryou kid sounded a little like their Bakura.

Honda sat up a little more after he'd successfully managed to calm down Jou though how long that was likely to last was anyone's guess. Yami could already see that the blonde was growing impatient with just sitting there and he was beginning to feel the same way. Seto was thinking on something but wasn't sharing with the rest of the group and it was Anzu who voiced this.

"Seto" she begun, "You have an idea of what may be going on, right?"

"There's various amount of evidence that may lead towards something" he replied very slowly,

"However I can't say for certain and acting on our own before the police have questioned us is likely to lead to more complications that we should attempt to avoid. For now I've got Mokuba searching for the van using the city cameras. Your fathers already aware of things Yami but I've managed to keep most of the press away for now - though I would suspect one of those girls to post something online at some point" he paused for a moment, "The concerts in about five days and was being used as a publicity stunt for the band as well as my father's business. There are a number of people out there who may wish to step in the way of that of course, though taking Yami would have been more beneficial. Bakura can be replaced if we must"

"Seto!" Yami snapped, his cousin holding up a hand before shaking his head.

"You know what I meant. He was the target though. That is now almost certain" he frowned more, "His family has been noted and now the press is getting involved. Well I suppose an hour of privacy was more than I could have hoped for".

"Now what?" Yuugi sighed a little and was playing with a bundle of straws that sat on the edge of the table. Everyone at the table, apart from maybe Melvin who was still chatting to a small group of girls, seemed lost in their own thoughts and worries. Seto was busy trying to contain the news of Bakura and Ryou going missing and Yami was fighting back the urge to be sick. He'd been the one to notice the van, to tell Bakura about it too and all because he didn't want to acknowledge what was said on a napkin. Sighing, he took the napkin out from his pocket having forgotten about it with everything that had just happened. He hadn't noticed that Yuugi was watching him till he heard the small sharp gasp of surprise as they read what was written.

 _He's alive, for now. If you wish for it to remain this way come to the docks tonight. Alone._


	3. Chapter 3

Enjoy :)

* * *

He wasn't too surprised when he felt his wrist grabbed and was half dragged across the cafe, the bodyguards watching them but making no move to stop them as Yami kicked open the boys toilet door, pinning Yuugi up against the wall and glaring down at him. He wasn't feeling too scared though. He knew that Yami was just afraid. He shouldn't have been too curious, shouldn't have read over his shoulder but as he stood there waiting for the older teen to gather up his thoughts he was somewhat thankful that he had. He could help him. Sure, this was not the way he thought he was going to meet his idol but right now, what was infront of him was a scared and worried teenager. He could feel him shaking as he held onto his shoulders tightly, taking in deep slow breaths in an attempt to calm himself. Yuugi just stood waiting for him to speak, eyes scanning Yami's face silently though he did eventually reach up when the others grip was beginning to get just a little too painful. He rest his hand against the others, giving a gently squeeze, Yami nodding a little before slowly letting go, leaning back against the door with his arms crossed.

"Sorry" he finally sighed, still not looking at his face and instead choosing to direct his words down towards the floor, "I guess I may have panicked a little. Just please don't tell anyone"

"Seto could help" Yuugi replied carefully, walking over a little closer, "But I won't tell anyone. That note was to you and I shouldn't have been reading it. I'm sorry" he sighed a little, cause he was. He was sorry they had to meet like this, sorry he couldn't do much to help and sorry that he was about to be stubbornly selfish, "But if you're going to those docks then so am I" he held up a hand as Yami attempted to speak, "No listen. Whoever took Bakura also took my friend. Therefore I'm going for his sake" and for yours he thought but remained quiet as he watched Yami finally looking up at his face.

"It said alone" he muttered feebly, no doubt already aware that wasn't going to work as an excuse and Yuugi couldn't help the smile that spread across his face.

"Yeah but that would be crazy" he shrugged a little before sighing, "I'm sorry though...that we had to meet like this and that this all happened"

"I'm sorry that your friend got caught up in this" he replied and finally gave a slight smile, "Your name was Yuugi right?" he smiled as Yuugi slowly nodded, "Well thank you. I'll accept your help" he paused and reached other, flicking the top of his hair, "Also nice hairstyle" he smirked, Yuugi blinking before blushing brightly.

"I-I wore it like this even before I knew about you guys!" he pouted slightly but he did not want to be be seen as some crazed fan boy who was trying to look like his idol. He'd always looked this way, it was that which had originally drawn all three of them towards the band in the first place. Yami though was looking unconvinced so Yuugi pulled out his phone, flicked through his facebook page till he found a younger picture of himself, Ryou and Marik before handing his phone over to Yami.

"Wow" he smiled a little, pinching the screen to zoom in on the picture, shaking his head slightly, "This is just insane. You three are like little mini versions of us. I didn't know Melvin till about three years ago but Ryou is the spitting image of a little Bakura, minus the red eyes of course...and you're a little me"

He smirked and handed over his own phone, both of them leaning back against the door as they gazed down at the photo of a little Yami and Bakura. They must have been about the age of ten, a mini Seto off to one corner seeming to be keeping an eye on them, Bakura laughing having thrown a soft ball at little Yami's head. Yuugi chuckled a little before frowning and zooming in on the picture, pointing to the wristband Bakura wore.

"What is that? I've noticed it before though he does tend to keep it hidden"

"It's a complication" he sighed, "...I might tell you yet" he smiled weakly, "Save your number. I already added mine to yours. Just don't go giving it to the press" he winked as he handed him back his phone, Yuugi blushing brightly as he quickly typed in his own details before handing the phone back to Yami. He was beginning to feel nervous though was proud that he'd managed to last this long. He knew people would literally pay thousands if not millions to get this man's phone number and get he'd just been given it without asking. "I'll ask Seto to let you guys go soon. I'll phone you once I manage to escape from him" it took effort to listen but Yuugi nodded to let him know he had heard, placing his phone back in his bag and trying to somehow get his blush to fade, though that was difficult since he knew Yami was watching him. "Are you alright?"

"F-fine" he sighed a little. Why did he have to start falling apart now? He'd been doing so well until he'd been given his phone number, "Sorry...I didn't want to be one of those fans who got all tongue tied around you"

"You did good. Shall we head back? I promise I'll phone. If I haven't by four then you call me. Alright?"

All he could do was give a slight nod and hurry through the door and back to his suspicious friends as quickly as his suddenly jelly legs would allow him to walk. The previous conversation was flying through his mind so he jumped when an officer laid a hand on on his shoulder and asked him if he wouldn't mind being questioned. Seto was trying to get him and his friends seen to first since he didn't like keeping them. Looking around, Yuugi saw that the fangirls had now finally been driven outside and that Melvin and Marik sat across the other side of the cafe, heads bent low in what seemed like a rather amusing conversation judging by the laughter that came from their table from time to time. Two bodyguards hovered nearby them.

"Alright" he smiled a little as Yami brushed by him on his way back to his seat, "I'll answer what I can".

* * *

"You are fucking amazing" Marik laughed brightly at Melvins proud smirk. When he'd seen Yami dragged Yuugi away Marik had went to follow but was stopped by Melvin and pulled over to this table. At first he'd been annoyed. After one friend being taken god knows where, he didn't like the idea of Yuugi being left alone with a clearly upset Yami but Melvin did a really good of convincing him to stay. A very good job indeed. "So what happened? After you stole it?" he asked in a low whisper. Both of them were very aware of the fact that the place was currently swimming with police while they compared the various crimes they had committed but that just helped to add to the rush they were currently experiencing.

"Actually that's how I got into this band" he laughed again, "Bakura broke my ankle. We both ended up in hospital and Yami basically begged Yami to take me in" he shrugged and sipped on his water, "Yami's a strange one but hey touring the world has been fun and all I have to do is look amazing and play a darn guitar. Simple really". Yips. This man was amazing and he bloody knew it too. No wonder he always walked around with such a confident smirk.

"So wait, the band was Yami's idea?"

"Sorta? Think a mix of his and Seto's. Those two come up with random ideas and just take me and Kura along for the ride. I don't much care. Nothing much else to do" he shrugged and glanced at Marik, "Your friend who was taken, what was his name?"

"Ryou" he sighed before blinking and laughing softly, "Ryou Bakura actually"

"Really? Heeh" he laughed, sipping more water and watching the officers who had taken Yuugi off to one side to be questioned, "Seto's trying to get rid of you people now". Marik nodded a little and watched outside instead, half jumping as Melvin was suddenly behind him, pushing a napkin into his pocket, "Here's a gift. Just don't go sharing it or I'll find out where you live" he grinned and walked back over to Seto and Yami, Marik watching after him, knowing he should have been afraid of those words but instead felt a sense of much missed excitement. He just hoped that Ryou was alright.

"Oh!" he gasped a little as he fell into the chair next to Jou and Honda, "Has anyone tried Ryou's phone yet?"

"Didn't Yuugi?" Anzu sighed, half leaning across the table, Marik noticing with slightly amusement that Yami had drawn as far back as possible from her hands that rested in the air between the table and where he sat.

"I'm not sure" he shrugged, pulling out his phone and trying not to pull a face at the number of missed calls he currently had from his sister. When he got home it looked like an argument was likely to be unavoidable and today had started off on such a happy note. He quickly dialed his friends number, not too surprised to find it went straight onto voicemail. He had somewhat hoped that however had caught them might have overlooked the possibility of them having a phone. "Was worth a shot I guess" he sighed and leant back, before squeaking as Jou took his phone, "Oi!"

"Ryou has two phones, remember?" he grinned as he typed in the number, also dropping the phone before he quickly placed it in the middle of the table, a low ringtone filling the sudden silent cafe. Marik and Jou both leant out the pick the phone back up when it seemed like there would be no answer, hands freezing over the screen as the display changed to show that the call had been answered.

"R-Ryou?" Marik barely whispered, being greeted with silence for a moment before a tired, somewhat strained voice replied.

"Is that his name? Who is this?"

"Bakura!" Yami and Seto both yelled at the same time, Marik frowning slightly.

"Wait why have you got his phone?"

"He's lying unconscious across my lap...I felt the phone..ringing" he paused to cough, Yami and Seto glancing at one another in concern, "And I have no idea where we are. Feels like we're still moving if that's your next question. I'll keep your friend as safe as I can… I think they heard me...fuck...Yami don't you fucking do anything stu-"

The phone went dead and the group just sat staring at one another for a moment before Marik reached across and took his phone off the table, biting at his lower lip a little as Melvin let off a low whistle. The nearby officers were now staring at Yami who just shrugged and turned to look outside, Yuugi walking back over to the table oblivious to what what had just happened, giving Jou a questioning look as he took his seat.

"W-what did I miss?" he frowned and shot a questioning look towards Marik who held up his hands in defence.

"I phoned Ryou's spare phone, well Jou did" he sighed a little as Jou shrugged.

"I thought it was worth the shot. Bakura answered but he was cut off. Told Yami to not do anything stupid before hand though" he shrugged, Yuugi gazing across at Yami who only glanced over when Marik's phone beeped.

"...I don't like this" Marik started, they could all see the name written as the sender of the message that now was showing on the bottom of his screen, "I kinda just gave the kidnappers my number"

"Just open the message" Seto snapped, obviously his patience now ran out. Marik, not wanting to risk anyone growing angry at him but also dreading what she was about to see, placed the phone onto the table where everyone, including the two curious officer, could see the screen, closing his own eyes as he swiped the screen, unlocking the phone and displaying the message.

Marik didn't want to look but the string of curse words leaving Melvin from his side made that curiosity sense itch. Slowly he opened his eyes and though he knew that his friends were shaken up because of the blood that marked Ryou's hair, because of the way Bakura's arms were cut from obvious defensive wounds or the unnatural direction Bakura's ankle was twisted, he was more taken back by the man who sat to one side pointing a gun directly towards Ryou's head.

"That's" Yuugi gasped and jumped to his feet, turning to the nearby officer and looking as pale as a ghost, "That's Ryou's father".


	4. Chapter 4

Re-wrote this chapter about three times so I hope it turned out well enough ^^;

* * *

They had agreed to meet at the docks at seven, since it should be dark enough and most if not all of the workers should have left by then. Getting out of the house after news of Ryou and Bakura's kidnapping had been the difficult part as both his grandfather and mother had been keeping a close eye on him as though they had guessed what he would be trying to sneak out. In the end, he'd used the skylight in his room to climb down the side of the house and set off towards the docks, hoping that he wouldn't be too late. Yami had told him he'd give him till half past the hour before he'd go in by himself but Yuugi wasn't about to allow that to happen. He'd seen just how worried Yami and Seto had been about Bakura in particular though he was sure that they'd also be concerned over Ryou just they didn't know him personally. Sighing, he pulled out his phone and bought up the map of the city, making sure he was taking the right pathways that he'd mapped out earlier as being the shortest route. His heart was pounding now and he knew it wasn't all down to the running.

Quarter past six and he arrived panting heavily at the locked gates that lead into the docks, finding Yami standing examining the lock though he turned and smiled as he heard Yuugi.

"Heeh, you ran here?"

"Grandfather and my mother were watching me like hawks" he gasped out, slowly standing and holding a hand up against his chest as he tried to catch his breath, "The news is full of the story of the kidnapping now and Ryou's father was even on pleading for his safe return...the bastard"

"Are you sure that man was his father?" Yami asked as he turned back to fiddling with the lock, Yuugi walking over as he nodded.

"Yes. I've never met him in person but Ryou has a picture in his home of his family… it was taken a few years ago since his sisters also there but that man hasn't changed much...and you can't pick locks can you?" he giggled a little, Yami pulling a slightly face.

"Bakura's better at this kind of thing and it wasn't a skill I thought I'd ever need" he pouted as Yuugi walked over and took out a pin, kneeling to fiddle with the lock.

"Ryou taught me a little" he smirked as he took the padlock off and handed it to Yami, "Not that he steals a lot!"

"Heeh, don't worry about it. Melvin and Bakura aren't exactly angels either. I'm sure all three of us would have landed in jail a while back without Seto's help" he grinned and took Yuugi's hand, Yuugi gazing at him in curiosity as he went over his words. All three. So that included Yami? What law had he broken then? "Right let's go then. Remember what we agreed to though. If anything kicks off you run and you don't stop running till you get to Seto's. Got it?" Yuugi gave a slight nod as he followed after him carefully though knew he had no such wishes to follow such stupid rules. If anything happened there was no way he was just about to leave Yami to deal with it by himself. The grip around his hand at the moment was almost hard enough to be painful but he found that he didn't much care. He was concerned though that whoever they were to meet was already watching them, so he pressed in closer to the side of the buildings and tried to fight back the waves of fear that were beginning to rise inside him. The darkness and the sound of the waves hitting the sides of the docks made him extremely nervous and he found himself wondering if Yami knew how to swim.

They walked silently past the many warehouses and down towards where the only source of light seemed to be, Yuugi ducking to hide behind some boxes as a figure showed herself on the other side of the walkway. Yami frowned and stopped half way towards her and Yuugi could almost sense the anger that was radiating from him.

"I know you took a friend" she started and walked more into the light, Yuugi peering out from his hiding place. She was taller than Yami, which wasn't too surprising he guessed, wearing high heels too and an outfit that barely left anything to the imagination. She stood with arms folded beneath her breast, golden curls framing her face, "Come out of hiding little one".

Yami sighed before motioning for Yuugi to walk forwards, grabbing his hand and holding him close to his side as he continued to stare at the woman. Both just stood there regarding one another for a few moments before Yami finally snapped, "Well? I'm here"

"But not alone" she flashed Yuugi a smile, "Not that it matters. The idiots I hired messed up on their job and even grabbed another brat. Here I went through all this trouble to get you away from that annoying cousin of yours" she sighed and shook her head in annoyance as Yami frowned.

"A phone call also works"

"You'd never have answered" she smirked and took a few steps forwards, Yuugi glancing between them. Was this an ex or something? "I did try Bakura a few times but I believe he may have our entire family blocked by now" she sighed and pointed towards the warehouses before pulling out a pair of dice, Yami's grip increasing tightly around Yuugis wrist. "You enjoy games, don't you Yami?" she asked, "Your friends are in one of the warehouses back there...however simply handing them over would be boring. Don't you think?"

"...this is all for some stupid game?" Yami snapped, eyes narrowing as he took a few steps closer to her, "Don't you have an ounce of concern inside that plastic body of yours? He's your brother for fuck sake! I'm pretty sure-"

"Don't even go there. An adopted alien is not earning my love. You on the other hand" she smiled and walked over, running sharp nails along his jawline, Yuugi flinching slightly as the grip on his hand got tighter, "You I could have space for" she smirked and took his free hand, handing him one of the dice, "Now let's play shall we?"

"What's the fucking rules?" Yami hissed, rolling the dice between his fingers. The woman directed them back over to the stack of boxes and held up her own dice.

"We take turns rolling. Whoever rolls highest can select the warehouse that goes boom or can choose to ask a question instead. However you can't simply ask me which one they are in or which one is safe...that'd be far too boring" she laughed a little, Yuugi staring at her like she was insane. How could anyone play with people's lives like this? If any of this behaviour was strange to Yami though he was hiding it well. He stood going over the rules in his head before nodding.

"So if I win I get Ryou and Bakura back unharmed" he stated.

"Well they are a little harmed but yes. However if I win they die and you both come with me instead, deal?" she smirked and gazed at Yuugi who glanced up at Yami before quickly nodding.

"Deal" he whispered weakly. The cold winters night suddenly felt much colder than it had previously and he was grateful when Yami wrapped his jacket around his shoulders and gave a small encouraging smile. This was purely a game of luck though but they had to win.

"I shall roll first then. There's ten warehouses remember" she smiled at Yami as she rolled her red die, the cube spinning along the wooden surface before coming to a stop on a five, Yuugi feeling as though his heart was about to burst as the woman laughed softly. Yami gazed back towards the warehouses before rolling his own white die, both boys letting out a sigh of relief as it landed on six. "Mai. I'll ask a question" Yami started as he picked up his die again, "Will you tell me the truth when I ask you questions?"

Well that was a surprise. Yuugi frowned a little watching them both before the realisation slowly dawned upon him that this wasn't the first time they had played this type of game. Mai slowly smirked before nodding, "Yes I shall always answer with the truth. My turn now". Oh so she'd only allow one question per win? Still wouldn't it be too risky for Yami to ever suggest a number to be blown up? But then wouldn't Mai just use her first win to kill them anyway? This was all beginning to make him feel dizzy and a little bit sick.

"Hmm a four" he headed her sigh before she squeaked in joy, Yuugis heart sinking as he saw Yami had only thrown a two. Grinning, Mai pulled out a small box, warehouse number six bursting into flames, making both boys jump slightly, "You have to be more careful Yami" she giggled a little, "Okay you can roll first this time"

Yuugi wasn't sure how much longer he could handle this. Yami seemed far too calm for someone who was literally rolling die to save people's life's. "Is your name Mai?". What sort of bloody question was that!? She'd already answered to the name and it was obvious that they both knew one another. Mai though looked slightly shocked at the question before giving Yami a small smile, "No" she answered, Yami smirking softly before nodding. Yuugi, confused and cold just pressed closed against Yami as Mai rolled again. They both got a six.

"So what happens in the case of a tie?" Yami asked, Mai smirking softly.

"I was hoping this wouldn't happen so soon. It spoils the fun…we both pick a number to blow up"

She smiled a little, Yami seeming to have grown a little pale before nodding, "You first then". She nodded and pressed a button, warehouse three exploding and Yuugi couldn't help but scream as it had been pretty close by. Yami sighed and gazed off towards the fires, eyes searching for some type of clue before glancing at Mai, "Four" he barely managed to get the word out before flinching as the explosion was heard, Yuugi feeling as though his wrist was going to end up breaking with how tightly Yami was holding onto him. He could feel how much he was shaking though it was obvious he was trying to hide it from Mai. "So it's only when I win outright that you lie to me" he muttered, Mai smiling brightly, "Roll Yami"

He nodded and threw a six once more, Mai sighing a little before throwing a three, tutting and crossing her arms as she waited on Yami's question, "I can't ask directly… So is the one they are in an even number?".

"Yes" she smiled, Yuugi gasping a little as he finally caught onto what was going on. Yami nodded slowly and glanced back towards the three burning warehouses.

"If we can guess which one it is can we win outright?" Yuugi quickly asked, Mai glancing towards him looking a little annoyed but shook her head.

"That would spoil the fun. Besides this is a game between myself and Yami so stay out of this okay?" she reached over and ruffled his hair before Yami slapped her hand away in annoyance.

"Roll Mai"

"Seven warehouses remain" she grinned before throwing the die, landing on a five, Yami rolling a four and flinching as warehouse seven went up next. Yuugi whimpered weakly, gazing at Yami who had closed his eyes for a moment before he picked up his die again. As warehouse eight and five joined the burning buildings Yuugi had to wonder if Yami was trying to give him a heart attack on purpose. Now only warehouse one, two, nine and ten remained and they had just both thrown a four. Yami looked almost like a ghost as he frantically searched Mai's face for any type of clue, Yuugi jumping as warehouse ten blew up next. Using Mai's earlier clue that left Yami with only one logical choice.

"Two…" He muttered weakly. Now there was only two left and if they were still alive then...wait didn't that mean it was now up to Mai if they lived or not? Yuugi bit hard on his lip as Yami won his next roll and glared across at Mai, "Are they still alive?" he growled in annoyance, Mai laughing hysterically before shaking her head, "No. Your last blast killed them" she grinned, Yuugi feeling sick but if she was sticking to her way of lying whenever Yami won outright then that would mean they were still alive...but now how did they win this game without Mai blowing them up now that only two remained? Yami bit harder on his lip and once again rolled a six "Is the warehouse a prime number?" He looked as though he was about to faint with the the amount of stress he was under and anger just continued to swell inside Yuugi as the look of pure glee on Mai's face. She was enjoying putting him through all this.

"No" she answered, Yuugi and Yami at once glancing at warehouse one before Yami swore.

"Mai we got the answer now let us go get them! Warehouse two's Fire is starting to spread there!"

"You need to win once more Yami" she smirked a little, "Or I can blow them both up instead?"

"Just fucking roll" he snapped, Yuugi taking a few steps away to watch the fires, feeling as though he was about to be sick. The air was thick with smoke and the smell of burning wood and fish. He jumped as warehouse nine went up, Yami speeding by him as Mai's laughter filled the air. For a moment it felt like everything was frozen before he glanced back at Mai, saw her about to press the final button and with bravery he had no idea he possessed, he ran quickly back towards her, toppling into the waters holding tightly onto her waist.

* * *

It stunk of burning wood, fish and metal, ash filling the air with a thick fog and as another explosion went off he took a small victory in the look of fear that crossed their captors face. The man had been foolish enough to believe Mai when she had told him he'd be safe remaining with Bakura and Ryou - afterall both of them were unable to put up too much of a fight. That part was true at least. Ryou was sat behind Bakura and had been knocked out again after he and his father had an argument, Mai ordering for him to be silenced as the noise was giving her a headache apparently. Bakura had awoken to find the boy being beaten senseless by one of the other thugs that had grabbed them though was unable to help much due to the gun constantly being pointed towards him and having a broken ankle did little to help either. When it was over though he'd pulled the boy behind his own body and was now sitting watching as Ryou's father grew more and more nervous with each explosion that went off. At the seventh the man had jumped to his feet and started to pace the floor yelling about how much of a lying bitch Mai was. Well Bakura wasn't about to defend her. She was a lying bitch.

Coughing, he turned a little to check on Ryou and was thankful to see he'd now woken though was too scared to move. He held a finger against his lips just in case he tried to speak, not wanting to draw attention to the fact he was awake. He dropped a blanket over him and turned back to watching the deranged man in front of him, reaching back with one hand to place a reassuring grip on Ryou's, the boy pressing against his back silently as a reply.

"You honestly believed the words of a kidnapper?" Bakura laughed before breaking out into another coughing fit. The smoke was getting worse now.

"Shut up thief. I only agreed to take this job on to get back what's mine… You took something from me"

"I did? So...I stole something and now you wish to kill me and your son?" He frowned and tried to think on what it could be. Sure he was a bit of an annoyance, he and Melvin would sometimes steal the odd thing or the odd car but they usually ended up returning it once Yami or Seto found out and it was just for the rush of things. Old habits died hard. What could it have been though? He frowned and gazed slightly at Ryou who looked just as confused.

"My son was never suppose to have been included. I told him to get away from the cafe...but he had to go and try and help you!" he paused and gave a feeble laugh, "I haven't seen Ryou for three years...three years and this is how we first see one another again...pathetic"

"Yeah you are" Bakura snapped before jumping as the eighth explosion was heard, heat at once flooding over them. Fuck. That must have been pretty close then. Only this one and one other remained. Perhaps now wasn't the time to be telling this man how much of a crappy father he was. "Look. That's the eighth warehouse. This ones likely to be next. We need to get out of here and fast" he hissed and examined the man in front of him, eyes widening as the gun was once again pointed towards him. Was this idiot really about to kill him?

"I was told to keep you two in here" he answered, his hand shaking though as he took a few steps towards them, Bakura pressing himself back more to defend Ryou, "So don't think on trying anything foolish"

"I'm not the foolish one here you stupid bastard! Just get yourself and your son out at least!" he yelled before breaking into another coughing fit, eyes narrowing as they begun to sting with the volume of smoke that filled the air now. Even Ryou was no longer able to pretend to still be asleep as he broke out into his own coughs, his father smirking a little as he just shook his head.

"We can all die together. Wouldn't it be nice to see your mother again Ryou? I bear Amane would be happy to see her big brother too" Bakura felt Ryou tense up behind him as his father let off a hysterical laugh, "Are you going to leave her alone again Ryou? It was your fault you know right? She ended up saving your life at the cost of her own...don't you think it's time to repay the debt?"

Looking back it was a foolish thing to do but rage had pushed him to the edge of reason and so, swearing at the pain of placing any pressure on his ankle, Bakura jumped to his feet and tackled the older man to the ground, just as the ninth warehouse went up, Ryou screaming and running over to try and help though froze as a gunshot split through the air, followed by Bakura's scream of pain and rage. Despite the injury though he kept going and had his hands tightly around the mans neck when Yami ran in.

"Bakura! Don't!"

"He deserves it Yami!" he growled but could feel his grip growing weaker as the adrenaline rush begun to fade and the effect of losing so much blood begun to take its toll.

"Y-Yami Bakura was shot" Ryou whispered weakly before screaming as parts of the roof begun to cave in, Yami swearing slightly as he took more steps inside. By now Bakura had at least managed to throw the pistol to the other side of the room though he wasn't sure on how long he would be able to remain conscious for. Already his vision was beginning to grow blurry and just before he could fall to the ground Ryou caught hold of him, half dragging him towards Yami, ignoring his father. Yami, lifted Bakura a little more and draped an arm around Ryou, turning to leave before holding them back as the roof chose that moment to cave in, blocking off their exit.

"Fucking hell I swear I'm cursed" Bakura laughed weakly, groaning in pain as Yami set him down against a wall and turned to Ryou, "can you see about trying to stop the bleeding? I'll try and find a way out of here". Ryou gave a small nod and knelt down in front of Bakura who was currently fighting to remain awake. It had been such a foolish thing to do but he couldn't just sit and allow that man to say such vile words to his own son. It filled him with unexplainable rage.

"Thank you" Ryou whispered softly as he lifted Bakura's shirt and gazed at the wound, "I'm sorry I wasn't much use to you. You fought to defend me". Bakura sighed a little but managed to give a small smile as a means of response. This kid was something else. How could his father fail to see the type of man his son had grown to be? He had no idea or care if there was any truth behind the words the man had spoke, that Ryou had played some part in his sisters death. All he knew was Ryou obviously regretted whatever had happened and it was something the boy lived with everyday. Now Ryou sat pressing a blanket against the gaping hole below Bakura's ribs, looking pale and scared.

"Hey" he managed to gasp out. Breathing hurt never mind talking but he felt it was important to try and reassure the person attempting to save his life "You're doing good. I'll survive okay?"

"Promise?", Ryou responded and gave him such a fierce look that he couldn't help but grin.

"I promise" was the given reply. Now he just had to keep it.

Yami returned a few minutes later, though the look on his face alerted them that something was wrong, Ryou's dad standing behind him, the pistol back in his hands and pressed against Yami's side. "Slightly forgot about him" Yami muttered weakly as the man motioned for Ryou to stand.

"Find a way out of here" he snapped, Yami kneeling down beside Bakura, "And let's stop with the games shall we? Bakura needs a hospital Ryou so unless you want more blood on your hands you best hurry up"

Like hell was he about to die in a place like this. Yami now took over for trying to tend to his wounds though he seemed to be shaking rather badly too. "You played with Mai" he whispered weakly, Yami giving a slight nod.

"She's as crazy as ever" he sighed and glanced over to Ryou, "Yuugi was with me though. I don't know what happened to him...I ran in here without him"

"Maybe he went for help?"

"Maybe...you are an idiot, you know that right?"

He laughed despite the pain before nodding, "You know me so well Yami" he smirked, Ryou running back over as the rubble around them begun to move now, the dull sound of voices being heard from the other side. Ryou's father grew a little nervous and ran over to one side to dispose of his pistol, just as the rubble begun to clear out, a soggy Yuugi standing next to some officers and a very pissed off Seto. Bakura laughed weakly at the sight before allowing himself to finally fall into the darkness, the sound of sirens and Ryou calling his name the last thing he heard before he blacked out completely.


	5. Chapter 5

Enjoys! Updating Early as I return back to work on Tuesday blah!

* * *

Seto Kaiba had very little patience at the best of times. At the moment though he was feeling very close to his limits. He currently sat in the waiting rooms of the nearest private hospital that he could get access to. At some point during the night someone somewhere had decided to curse him and Jou had arrived with Mokuba. His little brother had fallen to sleep across a few chairs about an hour ago but Jou had now taken to pestering Seto about the lack of food he'd had all night. It had been four hours now since they'd gotten to the hospital and two hours since Jou had first graced him with his presence. It was going to be about another ten minutes before he snapped and just broke the blondes neck. He'd be doing the world a favour.

"Look" Jou was saying as he waved a snack bar in front of Setos face, "If you eat this I'll go and annoy Yuugi for a few minutes"

Now that sounded like a deal he could agree on. Sighing, he took the bar and begun to nibble on the fruity snack, only then realising how hungry he actually was and quickly finished it off, not complaining as Jou handed over three more before he jumped to his feet.

"Alright. I'll go check on Yuugi and Yami. If there's any news on Bakura though come let us know?" he smiled brightly. Seto swallowing his current section of fruit bar before giving a quick nod. As much as Jou was annoying him he had helped to distract his mind from the current worries. Bakura was in a critical but stable condition, Yami had a new minor cuts and burns, Yuugi was just being kept in for observation and Ryou was mainly okay physically but was barely speaking at the moment. He'd been treated for his head wound and now would just sit by Bakura's side as they waited for him to wake up. Yami had informed him of everything that had happened, only adding to his growing headache. Bakura's adoptive family were a bunch of crazy lunatics and that was him being nice. And to top it all off, right at the back of his mind was the lingering fact that they had a concert in about four days now and Bakura definitely was not going to be able to be on stage in time. Yami just needed to rest his voice and Melvin just had to avoid getting into trouble.

As though that thought alone was enough to summon him, the man had just walked into the waiting room and smirked as he flopped into the chair across from Seto.

"You could have phoned me. Marik called to tell me what was going down" he sighed and put on a fake hurt expression, "Are you trying to get rid of me Seto?"

"No I just believed you wouldn't be too interested in hanging around a hospital all night" he paused to finished off his last fruitful bar and walked over to placed the wrappers in the nearby bin, "was I wrong?"

"Nah but It still is nice to know how my fellow band mates are doing. They are somewhat friends you know" he grinned and picked up a random magazine from the table, Seto glancing towards him before shaking his head. What Yami saw in this one he couldn't see. Bakura was a pain in the neck at times but as least he was somewhat understandable. Melvin just seemed to do whatever he felt like and that could change from week to week or even day to day. Only Yami seemed able to get any real idea on the man and Bakura just encouraged him to get up to mischief. He took out his phone and flicked through the messages that had been left.

"Is there anything on the news?"

"Only that they've been recovered. We managed to stop them following us to this place at least" Melvin smirked a little, "You ever have a dull day with that cousin of yours?"

Seto smirked as he shook his head, glancing up as Yuugi and Yami walked into the waiting room, Yami glancing towards Melvin with a half surprised look as his lookalike just sat down and pulled up a magazine to flick through. "I thought you two were waiting with Bakura and Ryou?" Seto asked, Yami nodding slowly as he took a seat next to Yuugi.

"Yeah a doctor wanted to speak to Ryou alone so we gave them space" he explained, Melvin handing him over a chocolate bar that he snapped in half and gave one half over to Yuugi, "Other than what happened after I met Mai at the docks I don't know what happened to them Seto. Ryou is barely speaking. His father was taken away to be questioned by the police but unless Ryou speaks up or Bakura wakes up soon I think he'll get away"

"We won't let that happen. I already have our best lawyers looking into his case" he paused and flipped open his phone again, Yami and Melvin pulling out their own as they all gave off the same noise, "Mai?"

"Yip" Yami snapped, Yuugi shifting to peer over his shoulder at the written message.

"Let the games begin eh?" Melvin read out before laughing, "Ah this is why I love this band so much. Never a dull moment"

Seto groaned and finally decided just to turn his phone off in fears of developing yet another headache. It had been a long night and it seemed as though this wasn't to be the end of it. He gazed up at the three boys who sat across from him and felt dread building inside of him at their expressions. Melvin looked almost excited, Yami looked determined and Yuugi looked strangely curious. It seemed that along with the band he had now inherited looking after the group who'd been in the cafe earlier that day. He could plainly see the protective manner in which his cousin was looking over Yuugi and the light that appeared in Melvin's eyes whenever he received a message from Marik. "Hmm where's Jou?" he asked as he suddenly remembered that he had been off checking on Yuugi and Yami.

"Ah he went to get more snacks. He said someone ate all of his" Yami shrugged, Seto blinking before turning away slightly as he felt his face fill with colour. Making a quick excuse he decided to visit the toilets, annoyed at himself for the reaction, then even more annoyed as he walked straight into the boy who was currently invading his thoughts.

"Wow watch where you're walking! Oh Seto" Jou laughed a little as he pulled himself back to his feet, bending back over to pick up the dropped snacks as Seto calmly watched over him, not quite trusting himself with words at the moment, "Didn't see you there. Hmm did you see where Yami and Yuugi headed too?" he asked and gazed Seto a confused look, "Are you alright?"

"Over there" he just muttered, pointing towards the waiting area where the tips of Melvin's crazy hairstyle could just be about seen. Without waiting for a response Seto hurried off on his way to the men's toilets and slammed the door shut behind him, walking up to a sink and splashing cold water over his face. This was all the result of a long day and a sleepless night. Seto Kaiba didn't have the time for anything stupid like a possible crush. Was this a crush? He stared at his reflection, taking in his tired expression, the bags under his eyes, the wrinkles on his forehead and the ruffled way his usually neat hairstyle now sat. To him it looked as though he hadn't slept for weeks, when in reality it had only been two days. Tomorrow he was having the day off and resting. It's what he'd love to do but no. He had a concert to try and arrange and now he had the problem of finding a way to find a replacement for Bakura. They had three days to play at the local stadium and their second singer had gone off and gotten himself almost killed. Well, he'd always had the worst of timings. He blinked and laughed slightly at the thoughts going through his mind, shaking his head as he splashed his face with more cold water.

"Laughing to yourself is a little scary cousin"

Seto sighed and turned to find Yami leaning against the wall, arms folding over his chest though the hospital gown ruined the imposing look that he was aiming for.

"In four days time we are to greet three competition winners and put on a weekend long event… Bakura is in no condition and Mai's last message suggests that it may even be unsafe to host the concert"

"Do you wish to cancel then?" Yami frowned, Seto shaking his head before turning to gaze back into the mirrors, Yami joining him beside the sinks and choosing to wash his face as he listened.

"No but going ahead may be tricky. Bakura won't be fit enough for a concert that much is certain but the competition winners-"

"Don't worry about them" Yami smirked slightly, pausing to dry off his face, "Yuugi won those tickets. It was him, Marik and Ryou who would be coming to see us. So, problem solved on that front" he smirked and jumped up to sit on the counter, watching as Seto begun to pace in front of him.

"Alright that issue is solved" he nodded, "All that's left is Bakura I suppose. Normally I'd say just go ahead with just you and Melvin. Bakura's rather frail in health, we've ran nights without him before with just his voice as a backing track however this event is to be used as a major promotional gig" he sighed and begun to track circles, Yami watching over him, "Ryou" Seto finally said before turning to Yami who frowned confused for a moment before staring at him with wide eyes.

"You have got to be kidding? He went through god knows what tonight Seto. I hardly think four days is going to be enough for him to recover. Even then… I know him and Bakura look a little alike but there is noticeable differences!"

"Nothing that Rebecca couldn't fix I'm sure" he smirked, Yami jumping to his feet as Seto, now full with determination marched out of the toilets to go and talk to Ryou, closely followed by a worried Yami. This would work. If not then well. Bakura was getting on that stage in a god darn wheelchair if it came to it.

* * *

As he sat listening to the hums and beeps of the machinery around him, Ryou couldn't help but think that the condition that Bakura now was in was due to him. His father's words still echoed inside his mind and it took every effort not to cry. It'd been a few years now since his father had spoken to him in such a way. When his sister and mother had first passed away he'd been blamed by almost the entire family, was told that he should have perished as well. He sighed and leant down to rest his head on the edge of the bed. The doctors had told him to try and rest and informed him that he was to talk to the police in the warning but at the moment he didn't want to think on anything else. He just wanted to be here for when Bakura woke up, to say sorry for his fathers behaviour. Perhaps if he'd been a better son then none of this would have happened. He closed his eyes, half drifting off as he listened to the machines around him, only gazing back up as he felt a hand gently running through his hair. He blinked, gazing up at a sleeply looking Bakura.

"You're awake then?" Bakura whispered, moving his oxygen mask to one side so he could speak, Ryou slowly sitting up before giving a weak smile, feeling tears building behind his eyes.

"That's suppose to be my line" he smiled, "I… I wanted to apologise for what happened…and thank you as well" he fidgeted slightly in his chair, gazing down at the bedsheets, "I should have warned you when I first saw you or stopped my father or-"

"None of this is your fault Ryou" Bakura laughed softly before flinching in pain, "So do me a favour and stop blaming yourself. Your fathers a little psycho. I know how that is. It was my sister who was behind all this shit"

"She was your sister?" He frowned slightly, remembering the blonde woman, "You look nothing alike though"

"Yeah I'm adopted" he smiled weakly and moved slightly to the side, Ryou taking the invitation and crawling onto the bed to lay by his side, being mindful of the wires, "My real family were murdered when I was very young. Since then I was in and out of foster homes. When I was about eight Pegasus Crawford and his psychotic family took me in. I lived there for four years till Yami won against Mai" he paused for some air, Ryou reaching up to help with the mask, "So I lived mainly with Seto for the last six years or so. The wristband I wear is a condition for staying here. Allows them to keep track of me"

"I see. But doesn't that make it easier for your sister to do this then?" Ryou frowned slightly before closing his eyes as Bakura ran his fingers through his hair again.

"Yes but it was the only way I was going to be let off that god forsaken island...unless I murdered them all but Yami wouldn't allow me too" he smirked, Ryou glancing towards him before laughing weakly.

"You were only twelve. You wanted off that badly?"

"Yeah but that's a story for another time" he paused and turned slightly as the door opened, Yami and Seto walking in and both looking openly relieved to see he'd awoken, Ryou moving to climb off the bed but was tugged gently back down to lay by Bakura's side. Not really complaining he curled up and watched the other two men silently. Yami had lifted Bakura's medical charts and was currently reading through. Seto though sat down and crossed his arms, Bakura frowning towards him.

"I didn't do this on purpose" he muttered, Seto gazing at him before laughing.

"Oh I know. I am glad you're awake. The doctors said it may take a few days but I know how stubborn you can be"

"I hate hospitals" Bakura grumbled before gazing at Yami, "Well?"

"You'll need to stay in maybe two more days at the most. You lost a lot of blood so require monitoring for a bit longer...over wise though you seem fine. Nothing too serious. The bullet missed your organs and was removed easily enough" he smiled before glancing at Seto, "Our manager has a plan of action for the concert by the way. One your going to hate"

"Oh goody" Bakura grumbled and glanced at Seto, Ryou half hiding as it seemed Seto and Yami had now turned their gazes to him. Bakura blinked, glancing at Ryou for a moment before placing his mask back on as Seto walked closer and took Ryou's hand gently.

"Just listen to our request before you make any type of response" he started, Ryou frowning slightly but gave a small nod to show he agreed, "As you know we have a concert to host this coming weekend and the monday night too. Bakura though, as you're well aware won't be fit enough to appear on stage" he paused, Ryou tilting his head slightly, "So we want you to take his place" Seto finished with a grin. Ryou blinked and slowly sat up, staring between Seto and Yami as though they were crazy because they had to be in order to come up with a foolish plan like this.

"I look nothing like him though" he gasped a little, staring at Bakura before turning back to Seto, "He's a lot better looking, has darker eyes, is taller and -" he paused and blushed brighter as he realised he'd said all that out loud and in front of Bakura too, who was now wearing a smug expression. Ryou gasped and covered his face, shaking his head, "I can't do it!"

"Rebecca can fix your looks and you only have to appear on stage. Yami and Melvin will cover for anything else. Trust me Ryou you'll be the splitting image of him" Seto was saying but Ryou was no longer paying attention as he burried himself into Bakura's side and tried to forget about what he had just said. He heard a few muffled words between the three of them before Yami and Seto left, Bakura wrapping an arm around him gently before giving him a small nudge.

"Hey, you can still hear me right? I know we've been through a lot tonight and when I'm feeling up to it I'll yell at Seto for placing all this onto you when you're still recovering too". Ryou sighed and rolled onto his side, gazing up at a smirking Bakura, "It's a lot to ask though and I won't let them force you into it. Mai may still be around too" he frowned and started to lazily play with Ryou'd hair again, seeming to have fallen off into his own thoughts.

Ryou laid there, staring up at the ceiling and allowing the comforting motions to wash over him as his mind tried to work out the pros and cons of Seto's request. Could he really pass for Bakura though? He was sure his fans would be angry at him for impesternating as their idol and he knew from various sources how scary fan groups of this particular band could get, though some of the stories had to be made up. There was stories of girls stalking members, of breaking into their hotel room to steal anything that belonged to them. He frowned and glanced up at Bakura, "Have you ever been stalked?" he asked, Bakura laughing softly before nodding.

"Is that what you're afraid of?"

"I know how scary fan groups can be...they'd kill me if they found out I was a fake"

"Like I'd allow them to. Ryou, Rebecca is magical with her make up. She could no doubt make you even look like Yami if she tried" he paused and laughed at Ryou's confused expression, "I mean it she's skilled but like I said-"

"I'll do it" Ryou whispered, gazing up at the ceiling as he spoke. Even as he said the worse though that feeling of panic still raised through him. He would never get away with pretending to be Bakura even if it was on a dark stage. The fans would find out and rip him apart but he knew that this was the least he could do to pay back for what had happened to Bakura tonight. he slowly turned to rest on his chest and watched as Bakura slowly pulled himself up to sit a little "I want to help you. Like you helped me tonight. I'll need some help though" he frowned before turning to smile at him, Bakura motioning for him to get closer, hugging him into a hug once he was close enough.

"You don't have to thank me at all. I got shot cause I acted on impulse. Happens. Well not getting shot but acting without thinking is kind of my thing" he smirked, "So if you do this for me then I owe you one alright?"

"Hmm" Ryou paused for a moment before slowly nodding, "Alright. I'll pretend to be you for the concert. In return you owe me one request" he smiled a little, Bakura watching him for a moment before nodding, going back to once more playing with his hair as Yami returned with Yuugi and Jou.

"Nice to see you're both looking better" Yuugi giggled, Ryou nodding slowly as he forced himself to try and relax. What was he getting himself into? This was a disaster waiting to happen.

"So did you come up with your decision?" Yami asked as he sat down beside the bed, Yuugi sitting beside him as Jou gazed between them all with curiosity. Ryou gave a small nod and glanced up at Bakura, not sure he could actually speak the words again.

"He's agreed to do it Yami. You and Melvin better take care of him though"

"We will" Melvin grinned from the doorway, Yami sending him a glare before nodding to Bakura and Ryou.

"Thank you Ryou"

* * *

Happy New Year Everyone! 3


	6. Chapter 6

Updating now before I head back to work :)

It's kind of a mean chapter to leave things with - as this really just sets things up for the next two chapters ^^;

With that said - I hope you enjoy :)

* * *

"Let the games begin"

Yami frowned as he read the message the showed on his phone, Yuugi giving him a concerned look but by now was too tired to comment. Two days had now passed and they were sitting on the floor of the dance studio where Ryou was being taught some of the newer songs. They'd been here all day though, Yuugi and Marik having joined in to make the day a little more fun for Ryou who at times would just freeze if he forgot any of the steps, even though Yami and Melvin told him a few mistakes were fine as Bakura was known not to take things seriously anyway. Bakura sat in a wheelchair watching over them and was in charge of yelling at Melvin and Marik when they either argued over nothing or started making out. Yami found it all quite amusing, even if the day was slightly darkened with Jou had arrived with Anzu and Honda to drop off items for Yuugi. He sighed and moved a little so Yuugi fell into his lap, smiling down at the sleepy looking boy.

"You should just sleep if your that tired"

"I am not giving in before Marik" he muttered and slowly dragged himself back up to his feet, "A coffee shall solve all our problems! You wanting anything?"

"Erm, sure. Get me a cola. There should be a vending machine just down the hall" Yami smiled and pulled himself back to his own feet, stretching a little before yelping as Melvin dragged him back out to the dancefloor, Yuugi giggling before hurrying back outside. Yami sighed and glanced towards Ryou who at the moment was standing gazing outside the large glass windows that took up the entirely of one wall of the studio, though it was a one way window so no one could look inside. Yami smiled, reaching over and gently tugging on his arm to get his attention. "You okay?"

"Was just wondering where my dad was" he smiled weakly before stretching, "Okays let's try the chorus again?".

Yami nodded a little and took his place. This went on for about another hour before Seto finally decided they could call it a day, Yami walking over to Yuugi, "Are you staying the night again?" he asked as he helped him up to his feet, Yuugi shrugging.

"I may as well. School is closer here and Anzu did bring me clothes" he smiled, not seeming to notice the way Yami tensed at her name, "Do you mind if I stay? Ryou and Marik are too right?"

"I don't mind and yeah they are. Marik and Melvin are...getting to know one another and Ryou is here mainly for protection. We don't know if his father will be back at the house or not" he sighed and gazed over to where Ryou stood in front of Bakura, both seeming to be arguing over the routine Ryou had just completed, "Besides" Yami smiled, "I think they're kinda good for one another". He laughed as Yuugi blushed a little and wrapped an arm around him, walking towards the door, "Come on let's head back to Seto's"

"Okays" Yuugi smiled and pressed into his side sleepily as Yami opened the door, his smile fading as they came face to face with Anzu, the girl standing under an umbrella as it had now started to rain, though Yami barely noticed. He was dimly aware of Yuugi giving a small squeak before he pulled away from his side and beamed towards Anzu, "Hey. What are you doing here? I told you I'm staying with Seto?" Yuugi frowned as Anzu was looking through him, her eyes locked on Yami who was trying to think on what to say at the moment. God why did she always have this effect on him? "Anzu? Oh erm...yeah I forgot how much of a fan you were of Yami's"

"Good evening" she smiled, Yami swallowing before taking a few steps closer to Yuugi as she turned back to Yuugi and handed him over a small bag, "Your grandfather was worried about you. Told me to give you some of your favourite foods. The dance studio I train at is nearby so I decided to wait"

"Oh. Thanks Anzu" Yuugi sighed happily as he looked though the bag, "Maybe I should visit him tomorrow...Yami would that be okay?"

"Huh?" he blinked a little before slowly nodding, "Of course it'd be fine"

"You'll come too? I wanted to show you something...erm well if you have time" he muttered shyly, Yami smiling a little before ruffling his hair.

"I'll come too little one" he sighed and since he seemed to have found his voice he turned to Anzu and managed to summon a smile, "Thank you for dropping off his stuff Anzu". She seemed a little surprised that he'd addressed her but gave a small polite smile.

"No problem" she paused for a moment, "Can we maybe talk?"

"Oh!" Yuugi grinned and gaze Yami a small nudge before running back inside the building before he could stop him, Yami taking a deep breath before walking closer to Anzu as she held out the umbrella towards him. Silent, he allowed her to lead him around to the side of the building and leant up against the wall as he watched her pace a little in front of him. It was slightly amusing to see her acting for nervously. Almost reminded him of when they'd been younger. Almost.

"Anzu" he begun before swallowing the words as he saw the tears shining on her cheeks. This was a bad idea but as he moved to walk away she was suddenly there, pressed up against his chest and sobbing against his neck. Nervously, he wrapped an arm around her shoulders before sighing, "Anzu...what did you want to say? I asked you to stay away didn't I?". Two years since they'd last seen one another and she was still able to make him this way. He felt her laugh a little and turned his head to watch her.

"Getting you alone has been almost impossible you know" she sighed and wiped her tears away, "I missed you. I should never have let you walk out like that. I should have tried harder to keep you"

"Don't you think it was actually the opposite?" he muttered weakly, feeling her gripping onto his wrist as she let off a small laugh, "Is that all you wanted? I should head back before Seto begins to worry too much"

"Yuugi will let them know you're with me" she smiled, which wouldn't really help the situation but he nodded anyway, "And I wanted to say sorry, for what I did to you and Bakura back then...I know he'll never forgive me and to be frank I really don't mind that but" she paused and pressed against him again, leaning up to softly kiss him, Yami's breath catching in the back of his throat as he froze, "Do you think you could forgive me?" she whispered softly against his lips before pressing close from another kiss, his body moving to respond before he snapped out of it and gently pushed her away, staring at her with wide eyes before turning and running down the street, not really caring at the moment where he was going. He just needed away.

His heart was pounding painfully as he found himself in the middle of an old park. Slowly, he wandered over to one of the empty swings, lazily swaying as he allowed his mind to slowly catch up on what had just came to pass. Ever since they'd came home it had been one thing after the other. He kicked his feet off the ground, swinging higher and leaning back to stare up at the darkening skies, his clothes now soaking and sticking to his skin. Not that he cared. No doubt he'd get lectured off Seto whenever he got home but he had no plans of going home anytime soon. Anzu. She was the first girl, well the only girl he had ever loved. Then she'd become insanely possessive and jealous and it'd taken everything inside him to break away. What she did to Bakura certainly had helped and yet here he was, swinging in the rain, his heart pounding, his lips missing hers and tears shining in his eyes. Fuck what was wrong with him? he groaned as he felt his phone vibrate, dragging his feet down to stop the swing as he swiped his thumb across the screen, trying to ignore the way his hand was shaking.

"Kura?" he answered, glad his voice was steady, "Sorry were you guys worried?"

"Yuugi came back telling us you were with Anzu", Bakura responded, Yami smiling weakly, "You alright? Where are you? Melvin looked around the entire building"

"At a park nearby. I'm fine. I'll head back to Seto's soon. You guys head back alright?"

"Yuugi's going to come get you alright? We're not suppose to be alone at the moment you idiot" despite his words though Yami could still feel the concern in his voice.

"Alright. I'll wait here then. Bye Kura" he sighed and hung up, kicking himself back up into the air

He hadn't noticed Yuugi's arrival until he saw a flash of yellow out the corner of his eye, his little double now swinging in the swing beside him, smiling brightly as he caught up to the height Yami had gotten to. "Fancy meeting you here" he giggled, Yami smiling a little before smirking, "You were worried? I'm sorry little one".

"You and Anzu...you knew one another?" he asked, "Oh erm sorry I didn't mean to be noisy"

"Let's get back home first" Yami sighed, allowing himself to come to a gradual stop. Now Yuugi was here he was worried about him catching a cold if out in the rain too long, "I'll answer any questions you have when we've dried up. Deal?"

"Any?" he smirked, Yami frowning slightly before sighing.

"Almost any then" he laughed, wrapping his arm around Yuugi and pulling him against his side, Yuugi hugging into him a little before pulling out an umbrella and handing it to Yami who smirked as he held it up for them before leading the way towards Seto's mansion.

* * *

"Melvin if you get yourself killed I'm not saying anything nice at the service" Marik yelled. It was cold, wet and dark but Melvin had insisted on climbing up to the room of the dance studio and was currently stood on the edge of the rooftop watching the streets below. This was what he did apparently. Marik had only agreed to follow as Seto had said with Bakura injured and Yami missing he was the only one able to keep Melvin out of trouble. How he was expected to do that, he had no idea. He pulled the hood of his jacket tighter around himself as he walked over closer to Melvin though made no movement to join him. Danger was fun but falling from this height wouldn't be. "I have school in the morning you know" he muttered weakly, Melvin laughing as he jumped back onto the rooftop and grinned at him.

"Aww don't be a spoil sport. I spotted Mai's car nearby. Wanted to make sure she wasn't headed towards Yami was all. She headed off towards the town center though" he shrugged and reached down, taking Marik's wrist before pulling him up close, "So where were we?" he grinned, Marik seeming to lose the ability to speak for a moment before he coughed weakly.

"I was saying I have school in the morning" he answered weakly before groaning as his body was pressed up against the side of a wall, his lips captured by Melvins possessive ones, parting to allow him to explore his mouth. Fucking hell this man was a god. Not that those words were ever going to pass his lips. He was panting softly as Melvin pulled back and grinned down at him.

"Schools boring though. This is much more fun". Well Marik wasn't about to disagree with him but one of the conditions given to him by his sister of staying at Seto's was him going to school. He smiled before shaking his head.

"Yeah but it's best to go or I'll be dragged back home" he shrugged slightly before squeaking as Melvin lifted him up over his shoulder, the squeak turning into a scream as he ran over towards the edge of the rooftop, "W-what the fuck are you… DON'T YOU FUCKING-" he screamed as his crazy partner did indeed leap from the roof, onto the lower nearby building, laughing hysterically as Marik punched into his back in a blind rage. This man was going to get him killed!

"If you keep wriggling like that I might drop you" Melvin laughed before laughing even louder as Marik just froze, not wishing to be dropped from this height. Still, Melvin was crazy! Marik grabbed onto him but couldn't help but scream at each jump the taller man took, his eyes now scanning for any signs of Seto's mansion getting closer. He wasn't sure just how much longer his heart was going to last. With each leap of faith he saw his life flash through his mind. Either they got back to the ground soon or Melvin was risking having Marik's lunch down his back. Finally, Marik was set back to his feet, his hand taken as he wobbly followed melvin into the last building they'd landed on and down the stairs to the street below, trying to ignore just how amused Melvin was finding all this. Marik wasn't a coward but at the moment he felt as though his legs would give way at a seconds moment. Thankfully, walking out from the flats he could see the gated house across the street and allowed himself to fall against Melvins side, pouting up at him.

"Never...never do that again"

"It's fun" he laughed, "You'll be laughing about it in the morning" he smirked, Marik making a mental note not to do such a thing as he followed him across the street and over to the small security building that was beside the mansion, the guard allowing them through after a few questions. They'd been staying here for almost three days now and yet these same security checks always had to be completed by everyone. Except Yami and Seto it seemed, "And look at that we're first back too" Melvin smirked as he lead Marik inside, the waiting servant looking somewhat nervous as she realised it was Melvin who had arrived home first.

"Dinner shall be ready in about an hours time, sir" she politely informed them, "Lord Sennen is waiting in the living areas"

"Oh Yami's going to love that" Melvin laughed, wrapping his arm around Marik's waist and giving him a mischievous grin, making Marik's stomach burst into a flutter of butterflies. Oh god what was he up to now? "Let's go see the old man shall we?" he grinned, Marik groaning in protest as he was lead down the hallway, sending a silent prayer for the others to hurry up and get home before Melvin did anything too stupid. How Seto had expected him to keep him out of trouble he still was trying to work out but those thoughts left his mind as he was lead into the living area. A middle aged man sat reading a newspaper as a slightly younger woman typed away on a laptop beside him, neither one seeming to react as Melvin threw himself onto the nearby sofa and pulled Marik up into his lap, wrapping his arms around him in a processive manner. Judging by the unique colours within males short hairstyle, this was Yami's father. The woman however seemed too young to be his mother.

"Is Yami expected home soon?", the man asked after a few more minutes of silence, Melvin glancing up from where he'd buried his face into the back of Marik's neck before nodding.

"All of us are staying here at the moment, after what happened with Bakura. He shouldn't be too long now" he answered before hiding again, the man simply nodding as he returned back to his paper. To say the air was tense would be an understatement and for that tension to be broken by Bakura loudly swearing and Ryou frantically saying sorry as they appeared in the room was the icing on the cake. Marik watched in amusement as his friend turned bright red, directing Bakura's wheelchair around to one side of the room and turning his back to the two waiting adults.

* * *

What was he doing? Ryou felt like kicking himself as he turned and just stood staring at Bakura who was giving him a questioning look. His face felt like it was on fire but he didn't want to turn back around right now. He glanced up as Seto walked in, took one look at what was going on before walking over the man who had finally put down his paper.

"Uncle. Now is really not the best of times"

"And when is? The concert's in two days. Do I have to wait till after then to see my son?" he frowned slightly, Ryou squeaking as Bakura pulled him down to sit in his lap, the man scanning the room before turning back to Seto, "And why has the band seemed to have doubled in size?"

"These are Ryou Bakura and Marik Ishtar. Both are friends of ours" he replied, "After what happened I informed everyone that they were not to leave this house alone. There's only so many bodyguards we can hire without it being a problem - besides all three members do like to vanish" he sighed and ran a hand through his hair, "However uncle I believe the running of the band is my problem?"

"It is as long as you can prove you can handle it" he frowned, gazing towards the doorway, Ryou glancing over and gasping at the drenched Yami and Yuugi who stood there, Yami giving a small wave as his father's look seemed to darken, "What is this?"

"We're going to go get changed. Then I'll deal with the various lectures. Just letting you know I'm back was all" he replied before hurrying off, Ryou glancing at Yuugi for a moment, both of them agreeing to talk later before his friend hurried off and Ryou was now busy wondering why Bakura's grip seemed to have tightened around him. He frowned and turned to look up at him before noticing that the woman had now approached them.

"I am a lawyer under employment from your father" she was saying, Bakura narrowing his eyes slightly but remaining silent as Seto magically appeared behind them.

"Is there a problem?" he asked, the woman smiling softly, one that didn't reach her eyes.

"I am simply here to return his tracker, as was agreed on when he first left the Island" she reached into her briefcase and handed a small box over to Seto, "This is an improved version. Mr Crawford says you may examine it for tonight but it's to be back on his son before he leaves this house again" she smiled again before crossing back over to sit beside Yami's father, Seto glaring after her and Ryou feeling as though his ribs may break with how tightly Bakura was now squeezing him. Crawford? He'd heard that name before but where? He frowned and leant back silently against Bakura's uninjured side as he tried to think, Bakura silent rubbing circles into his back as he glanced up at Seto.

"Examine it?"

"Hmm" he frowned, "I'll get Yami to look over it, just to be safe. You wanting to go rest?"

"Oh no, I'm not missing this for anything" he grinned and Ryou couldn't help but chuckle a little as the annoyance in his eyes was replaced with a mischievous glint, "Sennen family feuds are always a blast Seto"

Seto sighed but walked over to rest on the sofa as they waited, bakura nuzzling into the side of Ryous neck so he wouldn't be overheard. Ryou still shuddered though, biting at his lip slightly, well aware of Bakura's amusement of making him feel this uncomfortable in front of so many eyes that could gaze their way at any moment. "Yami's father is a bit annoying but their arguments can be rather amusing to listen to" he whispered, Ryou blushing a little, digging his nails into Bakura's hand as it was the only real way to cause him pain without moving too much, Bakura just grinning in response, "Trying to hurt me? That's not very nice".

He frowned and tilted his head to glare up up him before they just broke out into laughter, Seto glaring towards them though that did very little to help. Yami and Yuugi appeared a few minutes later and Ryou wriggled out of Bakura's lap to go and stand with his friend, the two boys sneaking outside into the hallway as Yami and his father began to slowly, carefully talk to one another. Ryou hugged Yuugi gently, noticing the look of worry in his other friends expression.

"What happened? You two looked soaked"

"We sat on the swings for a little while" Yuugi whispered as he and Ryou sank to the ground, glancing up as Marik joined them, sitting at Yuugi's other side. Together they stood and gazed across at the opposite wall in silence, just gaining comfort in each other's presence like they had done since they were children, "He say's he'll answer any questions I have later but… we've only known them for about three, almost four days and all this has already happened?"

"Feels like we're getting too involved?" Ryou asked, Marik shrugging slightly, leaning back and closing his eyes.

"If they didn't want us here they'd let us know. Besides, outside influence might be what's best for them. Melvin is fucking crazy by the way. He carried me across fucking rooftops to get me here!". Ryou blinked, glancing at Yuugi before they both laughed softly, Marik lashing out at them playfully before pouting, "That aside. I say it's up to us if we wish to get involved or not. So Yuugi ask your questions and Ryou you use that favour Bakura owes you to your advantage" he smirked, Ryou shrugging slightly.

"I'm here to help him and also for my own safety. Dad's tried to phone me four times now. I keep just letting it go to voicemail but thankfully he's never left a message yet" he wasn't sure if he was happy about that fact or not but at the moment didn't wish to share that with his friends. His feelings regarding his father were complex at best and he wanted to get through the concert before being forced to focus on it. "Should we head back in?" he asked once the silence had lasted a little longer though they all froze as Yami suddenly yelled and stormed out the room, Yuugi sighing, giving his friends a small smile before running off after him, Melvin coming out and guiding marik away as Seto came to the doorway and motioned for Ryou to go back inside. Sighing, he nodded a little and wandered back inside the room, noticing the smashed glass on the table, Yami's father holding a dish cloth covered in blood against his hand while the woman beside him looked horrified at whatever had come to pass. Ryou glanced towards Bakura and wasn't surprised to see the look of amusement on his face.

"Can you take him to his room? It's on the first level so should be easy enough" Seto asked, Ryou nodding as he ran over and took the handle bars of Bakura's wheelchair, trying to ignore the glare Yami's father was giving him as he hurried out from the room, Bakura laughing as soon as they were out in the hallway.

"What happened to his hand?" Ryou asked after they were a short distance away in which he hoped was the right direction as he wasn't sure Bakura was paying attention at the moment.

"This door here is mine" he spoke up and motioned towards the large oak doors before laughing at Ryou's question, "He challenged Yami and lost. When he wouldn't accept the lose… well Yami doesn't like it when people break rules"

* * *

Trying to hide his amusement was a struggle but somehow he had managed it.

"I shall call a doctor to have a look at your injury if you wish" he said, his voice actually quite stable despite how amused he was currently feeling. You would think that Yami's father would be well aware of the temper his son could have but even he had looked surprised when the glass had been slammed down into his hand. No doubt Yami had been injured as well but he'd stormed off before anyone could stop him and at the moment it was best if he was left alone to come back down from his rage. Mr Sennen examined Seto calmly before shaking his head.

"I'll stop off at the hospital. Please inform Yami I shall see him at home after the concert has ended then. I am not allowing a stupid game to determine if he'll listen to me or not"

"Since he won I doubt he will listen but I shall pass along your message, uncle" Seto smiled and moved over to the door, glancing towards the woman who had packed up in a hurried fashion, "And I shall make sure Bakura has his tag back on before the end of tonight as well. Now if you could both please leave so that I can get on with my work that would be nice. I do have a concert to have ready for saturday night" he moved to let them by, waking sure to guide them towards the doorway, Bakura's laughing being heard nearby which seemed to make them both tense up. Seto, reached over and opened the door, slamming it shut once they had left, Melvin and Marik poking their heads out from the dining hall before laughing. "Don't you two start. Is dinner ready?"

"They say another twenty minutes" Melvin answered, "Is everything alright? Yami didn't look to amused there at the end"

"Uncle's pushing too hard. He's aware of how close to legally being an adult Yami is getting now" he shook his head and decided to join them in the dining hall, "Hmm where is Mokuba?"

"Was last seen stealing cakes from the kitchen" Marik chuckled as he bit into one of the cakes, Seto's eyes narrowing slightly before he sat down, taking the glass of water that Melvin handed to him. It was going to be a long night and yet tomorrow they had to get prepared for the concert and run a practice of the entire night. Why did people find the need to make his job even more difficult than it already felt? Sipping on his water, he gave a small smile as his little brother ran into the room.

"Seto! They told me to stay out of the kitchens!" he pouted as he sat before him, Seto sighing before laughing a little.

"That's because they want some food to remain for the other guests" he finished off his water, Melvin finishing off his own cake before grinning and tackling Marik, Seto covering Mokuba's eyes as he lead him out the room quickly, "Go to your darn room Melvin" he sighed a little but was rather amused. Even if this was logically speaking a mess on top of more messes, perhaps in the long run it was for the best. He paused to ask a servant to clean up the mess in the living area and for a doctor to be fetched for Yami. Not even he would be able to smash a glass into someone else's hand without getting himself cut at the same time. His uncle was a fool. Yami was a fool, heck all of them were fools and he was the one who now had to clean up after the fool, which made him a fool as well!

"Big brother?" Mokuba sighed and pulled on his sleeve a little to try and get his attention back, "Big brother?"

"I'm fine Mokuba" he sighed and lead him into the kitchens, grateful to see the food was almost prepared now, "I'll just be a lot happier when all this is over"

* * *

As I said - sorry!

Everything concerning Anzu/Yami is told in the next two chapters!

Thanks for reading :)


	7. Chapter 7

I need to write about Anzu in a better light in one fic...

Sorry for any Anzu fans ~~~

Oh! Parts written like _**this -**_ are a flashback just incase I didn't make it obvious 3

* * *

This was a side to Yami that Yuugi wasn't sure he wanted to see so soon. He'd chased him back to his bedroom in a panic since he'd noticed the blood that was dripping from his hand, leaving a breadcrumb trail of crimson droplets as Yami had stormed upstairs and into the bedroom, having tried to lock the door but finding Yuugi blocking the way. He had stood there watching him for a moment before dragging him inside with his other hand, locking the door behind him. Now, Yuugi suddenly felt nervous. He knew this wasn't the usual calm Yami but nor was it the scared one he'd dealt with back in the cafe. This one radiated only with rage and he wasn't quite sure on the best way he could offer help. One thing for certain was that his hand needed treatment.

"Can I tend to your hand, Yami?" he asked softly, Yami regarding him with a cold look before nodding slowly. He took hold of Yuugis wrist and lead him over to the small bathroom, Sitting on the edge of the bath as Yuugi looked for the first aid kit.

"You shouldn't be near me right now" he muttered, Yuugi kneeling down and gently taking his hand. Ryou was better at this type of thing but at the moment he felt this may be needed, "Yuugi…"

"It's fine I choose to follow you. Let me get the glass out your hand okay?" he was glad his voice was calm cause at the moment he felt nervous. If he did anything wrong he was worried how Yami may react though he seemed to now just be gazing at the wall as Yuugi worked with a pair of tweezers, gently and carefully working on pulling out the small shards of glass from Yami's hand though froze as he felt a hand in his hair, "Yami?"

"It's been a long night Yuugi. Once your done will you come with me to the roof?"

He blinked a little, gazing up at him and noticing the gentleness back in his eyes. Smiling a little he nodded and worked on gently cleaning out the various cuts, Yami flinching slightly as he applied the disinfect before helping Yuugi to wrap a bandage around his hand. Overall it looked as little messy but it would serve its purpose until Yami got to see a proper doctor. Yuugi was a little proud of himself as he cleaned away the equipment, knowing Ryou would have done better but still happy with what he'd achieved. More importantly Yami seemed to be or less back to his normal, if tired looking self. Washing his hands he smiled as He felt Yami hug him from behind. "Feeling better?" he asked, Yami nodding a little.

"My family have a habit of driving me slowly insane. However let's go outside before we talk. The cold air should help me...if you don't mind?"

"I don't but has the rain stopped?"

"We can take an umbrella. Let's go"

Yuugi laughed a little as he was half pulled out of the room, managing to grab an umbrella as Yami grabbed his wrist and ran through the hallways. Setos house was massive! No wonder he didn't seem to mind having everyone living here. If he wanted to it'd be rather easy to avoid running into people. He shouted a few apologises to servants as they rushed by them, Yami laughing softly as he lead him out onto the patio that laid on the roof of the building. Thankfully the rain had stopped by now, a gentle breeze washing over them as Yami leant against the railing, watching the gardens below. Yuugi smiled as he joined him, sitting on the bottom of the railing despite the wetness. He had a feeling they would be out here for a long time.

"You asked about Anzu before? If I knew her?" Yami started, still gazing out into the distance.

"Well yeah but if you don't want to talk about it it's fine" Yuugi smiled softly, Yami glancing towards him before shaking his head as he glanced back off.

"I told myself in the park I would tell you tonight. Can't let my father ruin that… Bakura pestered me to talk to you before now" he sighed and ran a hand through his hair, Yuugi tilting his head a little in confusion. Just what had happened and if Anzu knew Yami personally why had she never told him? She ran his biggest fan group. Knowing him would be something to brag about surely wouldn't it? "This is an awful long story" he paused and pulled out his phone as he received a message, Yami reading over it before turning to face Yuugi, "She's your friend but everything I'm about to say is the truth. I was just waiting on Bakura's permission to share some of his past too since it'll help context wise"

Yuugi could only slowly nod, growing a little nervous about what Yami may be about to say. Anzu had been one of his close friends for what felt like forever and yet it seemed as though there may be things about her he didn't know? Well, no one shared everything with their friends he guessed "Alright Yami...start when you want to then…"

* * *

 _ **Two years previous….**_

 _ **Yami sat curled up on the sofa with Anzu. This marked their seventh months anniversary. As such she'd decided that they would have a movie marathon. Outside there was a storm raging and Yami was getting a little worried about getting home before it got any worse. Anzu had convinced him to stay at hers for the last week or so. Everytime he'd attempted to sneak off back home, she'd suddenly appear and guide him back inside. He'd woken one day to hear her and Bakura arguing but by the time he'd made it downstairs his friend had already been sent away. Today would mark the ninth day away from home. The first few nights he'd stayed as he generally wanted to. He and Anzu only had a few months together before he was being pushed off back to a new boarding school - one that would accept Bakura as well since his previous one refused. This entire summer he'd been making sure to spend as much time alone with Anzu as possible, to the point of paying Bakura to stay at home some days but for the last few days he'd been half thinking on calling home for help to bloody get out of this place.**_

 _ **Still. It could wait one more day. It was their anniversary and he didn't want to spoil that for her, so for now he held her close and allowed his eyes to watch the TV screen in front of them, now and then accepting the food that she pressed against his lips. He was tired but determined to remain awake. Every time he dozed off he'd been having the same nightmare. His plan was to stay this extra night then go back home tomorrow no matter if it upset her or not but as he sat listening to the storm he began to grow more and more worried. Storms hit this side of the country rarely but whenever they did it tended to be rather violent.**_

 _ **The house they came to for the summer holidays actually belonged to his grandfather and though he knew Bakura would make sure the old man was taken care of he was still nervous.**_

" _ **Anzu? Have you seen my phone?" he frowned a little, Anzu gazing up at him before shrugging.**_

" _ **Do you need it right now? I thought we were watching this?"**_

" _ **I just wanted to call home. Make sure everything was alright. Grandfathers house is pretty close to the coastline", he yawned and shifted slightly, Anzu looking a little annoyed as she sat up, "Have you seen it?"**_

" _ **Nope. May it's upstairs? Last time I seen it was when Bakura called"**_

" _ **That was two nights ago" he sighed shaking his head as he stood up, frowning at how the world seemed to spin, Anzu rushing over and helping him to stand, "I'm alright. Maybe more tired than I first thought"**_

 _ **She nodded and sat him back down before kissing his cheek, "Let me go and see if I can find your phone then? You might be stressing out a little".**_

 _ **This didn't feel like stress. He shrugged and shut his eyes, jumping as the lights went out, Anzu freezing before screaming. Oh great a power cut. "Anzu I'm going home" he snapped and forced himself to his feet as he walked towards the stairs. His coat was upstairs.**_

" _ **How can you go home? I can't be left here alone Yami!"**_

" _ **You can come with me. I need to go and check on grand father and I can't find my darn phone to just call Bakura and ask" his patience was reaching it's limits and Anzu seemed to sense this as she stood watching him for a moment before nodding, "Alright we'll go check on him then"**_

 _ **He nodded and walked upstairs, Anzu following after him and looking through the clothes that had steadily piled up. Looking back now, since he had a change of clothes everyday did that mean Bakura was dropping off stuff for him? Why was his memory so darn fuzzy? he sighed and pulled on his coat, looking for his phone again before giving up on the search, Anzu already waiting downstairs for him as he walked back out into the hallway. He had one warning before it happened. The world suddenly begun to twist again before the ground itself shook beneath him. Startled, he heard Anzu yell out his name as he lost his footing on the stairs, a sharp pain resounding across his head before he blacked out.**_

* * *

"Wait" Yuugi blinked a little before frowning as he realised it had begun to rain, "So you and Anzu were dating?"

"Yeah. I used to meet up with her every summer" Yami smiled a little, "My grandfather lived near hers, about two doors away but right on the coastline. It was a lovely house and very welcoming. I used to love summer"

"Lived", Yuugi echoed, "Did he move?"

"He died… two years ago. An earthquake hit the town, remember?" he sighed a little and took Yuugi's hand, leading him into a small area that was a little more sheltered, "I was unconscious for most of the actual quake though. I woke up in Anzu's place a little bit later...the next parts a little sketchy as Bakura would know more but I'll tell you what I know at least"

"Oh yeah" Yuugi nodded a little as he started to remember, "That's about when Anzu moved...her house…" he blinked and stared back at Yami with wide eyes, Yami smirking slightly before pulling him against his side and gazing off across the roof as he begun his story again.

* * *

 _ **His head was pounding as he finally came back to, his vision blurring slightly but starting to clear as he pulled himself up slowly, coughing at the vast amount of dust that suddenly appeared to be around him. Forcing his eyes open, he became aware of the growing realisation that he was buried under rubble, the creaking of the broken staircase behind him making him turn around and freeze at the sight. The stairway had been torn in half, a large trunk of a tree now laying across the pathway that would lead upstairs. Above him was now an open hole to the skies above, some rain water being able to drip down from the small alcove he was currently hiding inside.**_

" _ **Anzu? ANZU!" he cried out and forced himself to his feet, still feeling somewhat faint and somewhat panicked by the lack of response he was was getting, "Anzu!"**_

 _ **Getting no response he did the only thing he could. He searched around the creaking piles of bricks and pipes, looking for a wall of his prison that didn't look as if it'd come crashing down on top of him before starting to dig his way out, coughing against the rising dust clouds he was now creating. The sensible thing to have down would be to wait for the emergency department to arrive. He had no idea what he was doing, he could make the entire pile of rubble fall in on him at any given moment. As it was, he was lucky that nothing had fallen on top of him. The fallen tree seem to have acted as a barrier. He jumped back in fear as there was a loud crack, holding his hands up over his head as dust rained down on him from above, the rubble around him beginning to move and fall. When this all stopped, he took a look at the damaged caused before beginning to dig through again. Anzu. he could only hope she'd gotten out of the building safely somehow.**_

 _ **He couldn't put a time on how long he'd been digging for or how often the rubble would shift and fall around him but eventually he felt a hand wrapping around his wrist and after a few moments of struggle, in while he was convinced the entire house was going to fall ontop of them, he rolled out ontop of Anzu, her cheeks shining with tears as she smiled up at his dusty face, reaching up with bleeding hands to stroke his cheek.**_

" _ **Found you" she smiled softly, Yami smiling a little, sitting by her side before pulling her into his arms, kissing ove rher dusty cheeks, just grateful that she was alive. Eventually though he pulled back, gazing around at the ruins that surrounded them in sheer disbelief. His grandfather lived in a small gated community that sat on a small island off the coast of the main island. Only five families lived here that he knew of and yet it currently looked like the setting for some type of zombie movie.**_

" _ **Are you okay?" he whispered weakly, Anzu smiling a little as she wiped her tears away.**_

" _ **Yes… I managed to dig myself out...I was close to the kitchen when the earthquake happened, I was going to get water for your head...then everything went pitch black…" she frowned a little, "There's not going to be another shake right?"**_

" _ **I don't know but we should move just incase" he groaned as he pulled himself back up to his feet, taking her hand to lead her out more into the street before suddenly freezing, Anzu staring at him with worry before gasping as she followed his gaze.**_

 _ **His grand fathers house. It seemed to have simply vanished. From where they stood all that could be seen was the odd pale blue of the roof tiles that had been on the house along with a few branches of the old trees that laid across were the roof of the house once was. With new panic, Yami pulled away from Anzu and sprinted off down the street as fast as he could, climbing over anything that got in his way. Bakura. His grandfather. The bodyguards, servants, chiefs… everyone...everyone had to have gotten out alive right? He dimly became aware that Anzu had caught up with him though he soon froze as he ran into the land that once was the gardens. Everyone hadn't made it out alive. Already he could see blood marking the grass, could make out the odd arm or hand poking out from the pile of bricks. Anzu gasped a little from his side as Yami tore his eyes away and searched around for any type of place that may have survived. Looking at the area it appeared the back of the house have simply broke away, the earthquake causing the cliff to simply give way and topple in on itself.**_

" _ **Anzu" he gasped a little, feeling the tears in his eyes but refusing to allow them to fall at the moment. He couldn't know that everyone was dead. As hopeless as it all seemed, as dire as this situation was… there was still hope. The girl was now staring at a dead body in horror, backing up against his side, "Anzu can you help me look? There has to be survivors… there has to be"**_

" _ **Yami.." she whispered weakly but not having the heart to crush his dreams she nodded, Yami smiling and pointing towards the front of the house, "You take that half, I'll go look around the back...it'll be the most unstable" he sighed a little, Anzu hugging him tightly.**_

" _ **Just be careful okay?" she paused for a moment, "Yami...you hurt your head and you were feeling ill…try and take it a little easy. I'll find them" she smiled and ran off, Yami holding onto the side of his head as he wandered around to where the back gardens once were, biting at his lip a little. It really did look as though the house had been ripped in two. Gazing up he could make out the wallpaper of his old room, could see the door of Bakura's with the keep out sign but no signs of any type of life. Carefully, he approached the side door and walked over to the nearby pile of rubble, beginning to dig his way through and trying not to flinch too much when he begun to dig out more and more dead bodies.**_

 _ **By the time Anzu ran over to join him he was in floods of tears as she had to pull him off to one side to try and help him to calm down, holding over a bottle of soda she had in her bag. She sighed stroking his hair, whispering soft words to him as he gradually begun to calm down. All around them though the winds were still raging, the rain was still falling and he had yet to hear the sound of any type of help coming for them.**_

" _ **Did you find anyone?" he whispered, Anzu gazing at him with a pale face. It was then he noticed the blood that covered her hands, "Anzu?!"**_

" _ **I..I was digging and I kept pulling out more bodies and… and you can't ask me to keep doing that Yami...I can't look at any more of them!"**_

 _ **He pulled her close, holding her gently and rocking them back and forth in an attempt to keep her calm before freezing as out of nowhere, when the winds had calmed down for a split moment, there was a single yelling of his name. Bakura. He was alive then. He sounded like he was in pain but he was alive. Anzu seemed to tense under his arms but he kissed her forehead and over to start moving aside more of the rubble.**_

" _ **Kura!" he yelled, not sure on where abouts the yelling had came from, "Kura where are you?"**_

 _ **He heard nothing for a moment before, "Ask Anzu"**_

 _ **Yami froze, turning to face Anzu who'd gone even whiter before she shook her head. "I...I don't know where he is! I only saw dead people Yami...Yami you can't ask-" she screamed as he pinned her up against the wall, glaring at her darkly.**_

" _ **Enough! I know you don't like him but you can't honestly be ready to let him die, can you? Now where is he? You must have seen him!"**_

" _ **Y-our hurting me" she whispered weakly, tears back in her eyes but at the moment Yami almost failed to see them. Rage only usually reserved for his father was building up inside of him. If she wasn't careful he was going to end up doing something he'd regret later.**_

" _ **Anzu!"**_

" _ **I swear! I didn't see him… I can take you to where I looked but I am not going back inside"**_

" _ **Fine!" he growled and pushed her away, Anzu staring at him for a moment before taking off towards the front of the house, Yami following after her, trying not to gaze at the various corpses that now littered the garden pathway. He was shaking, from the cold and from anger and slightly from fear, watching as Anzu pointed to a small opening near the kitchen, "Here is where I was looking… I'm not going back inside though"**_

" _ **See if you can get any help" was all he said before he crawled through. The kitchen was more or less still intact, apart from the massive hole that had appeared in the center of the foor. Frowning, he carefully crawled over and gazed down at the edge, staring down in fear. Below he could make out the dining table, chairs, most of the cabinets, more dead bodies and the unmistakably, unmissable mass of white hair that flowed out from under one of the cabinets. He frowned as he tried to think of a way to get down. "Kura? Kura are you awake?"**_

" _ **Is he okay?" her voice being so close startled him so much he almost fell down the hole but he managed to pull himself back and glare across at her.**_

" _ **He's not answering...can you find a way down?"**_

 _ **She nodded slowly and started to move some rubble aside, screaming as more of the floor split apart and fell down into the basement below. Whimpering, she ran back over to Yami who was still watching below, willing for something to move and feeling sick the longer he watched the mass of white hair.**_

" _ **He saw you though" he frowned. From the angle they were at it was impossible to see Bakura's face and yet from what he had called out.**_

" _ **This is where I came in. I didn't see him Yami. I looked down there and saw nothing. He must have moved or something...maybe he saw me but I didn't see him"**_

 _ **Yami watched her for a moment before crawling towards the entrance that would lead to the basement stairs, not surprised to find how much it was blocked. He had to get down there though. He couldn't lose everyone. Anzu was still standing near the edge of the hole though quickly hurried away as the room above the kitchen suddenly gave way, debris falling down into the basement, Yami holding Anzu tightly against himself as an aftershock hit the area, the entire building beginning to shake and creak around them, Anzu clinging to him tightly before she screamed as a large section of the above floor fell down pretty close to them, Yami guiding her back towards the hole they'd crawled in from, "Go!"**_

" _ **What about you?"**_

" _ **I'm not leaving without Bakura" he snapped, Anzu shaking her head.**_

" _ **And I'm not leaving without you" she replied. Normally he'd had argued but they didn't have time for this. Bakura was getting covered in even more debris but that last quake had helped. Now that he scanned the hole, there were now a few new platforms he could use to get down. Getting up though would be the hard part.**_

" _ **...I'm going to climb down. Can you try and find some rope or belts or anything that could help get us back up again? Anzu?"**_

" _ **I can do that" she nodded and hurried over to search through the broken cupboards as Yami slid down along a floorboard, working his way gradually between the new piles of debris, cutting himself on glass or other broken items but having no real self awareness for the moment. All his mind was screaming was for him to get to Bakura, that his friend needed help and soon.**_

* * *

He'd paused again and Yuugi was watching him with a careful expression. Everything he was hearing seemed like something from some type of movie but he remembered the earthquake that Yami was talking about. He'd been staying at Ryou's the night it had happened but they had suffered only minor injuries compared to what was being described at the moment. He remembered the news speaking of the coast getting hit hard and that it had been difficult for emergency services to get to there because of the storm that had been raging even before the earthquake had hit. Ryou had then gone with Yuugi back to the game shop as he'd been worried about his grandfather being alone, his mother being out of town at the time. They had spent most of the night calling their friends and Anzu hadn't called back till almost two days later.

"So how did you get Bakura out then?" he asked after the silence had lasted a little too long. Yami was watching the rain hitting off the rooftop, a somewhat distant look in his eyes before he took a deep breath, leaning against Yuugi's side and closing his eyes.

"By almost killing us both. The storm was fucking wild, the surface was wet and slippy and by the time I got to the bottom I was drenched. The wind had thankfully stopped so debris was raining down on us less but I was worried about the amount of water that seemed to have gathered"

* * *

 _ **He landed with a splash and promptly lost his footing and fell into the large puddle of water, muttering at himself to be more careful as he squinted his eyes. Down here it was even darker and difficult to make out what was infront of him. Soon though he found what he was looking for. Bakura laid unconsciousness on his back, blood mixing with the water around him. As Yami got closer he saw that he'd fallen onto a broken half of a shelf, the sharp wood having pierced deep into his shoulder. He had one hand up over his head, his arm and hand covered in small cuts from what looked like the be glass. Gently, Yami pulled his arm back and stared down into the pale face of his closest friend, feeling a faint pulse under his fingers. He was alive then. Though how was he suppose to get him out. His other arm was buried within a nearby mountain of debris, his legs were torn up, no doubt by more glass. Somehow, he'd ended up having the contents of the kitchen drawers fallen on top of him, along with the cabinets that had contained glasses and china plates. All around his body was broken pieces of china and glass, along with forks, knives and spoons. It was as though the kitchen had decided to attack him.**_

 _ **Carefully, trying to avoid getting cut, he turned to the debris mountain that held Bakura's arm captive and slowly begun to dig his arm free. Looking at the broken nails on Bakura's other hand it seemed he'd also attempted to get free as well before blood loss had gotten too much Yami guessed.**_

" _ **Is he alive?" Anzu called down, Yami glancing up towards her before moving slightly so he could see her. How the heck had Bakura seen her from where he laid then? The fallen cabinets blocked most of the view.**_

" _ **Barely. Did you find anything?"**_

" _ **A few ropes outside. I have no idea what to do though"**_

" _ **Look for something sturdy to tie it around. I just need something to grip onto" he sighed and returned to his task, biting at his lower lip in concentration.**_

" _ **Told you...stop doing that", Bakura weakly whispered, Yami glancing towards him with a weak smile.**_

" _ **Tell you what. Survive this and I'll stop"**_

" _ **Heeh, deal" he groaned and Yami quickly turned in concern, Bakura closing his eyes weakly, "Staying awake however not so easy"**_

" _ **Just try...hey sing that annoying song of yours"**_

" _ **Really Yams?"**_

" _ **Just do it"**_

 _ **Bakura managed to get through one verse of the song before he'd passed out again, Yami managing to free his arm and pull his body to one side as the debris shifted around them in protest of being dug out. Faintly he made out the body of his grandfather at the other side of the wall before the debris rained down and blocked him from view. It was looking more and more as if Bakura was the only survivor then.**_

" _ **Got the rope" Anzu called down, Yami grabbing the end and tying it tightly around Bakura's waist, frowning at the blood that begun to seep out. How had he injured his side there? He didn't have time though. Too much blood was being lost, too much water was raining down and still he failed to hear the sound of sirens.**_

 _ **With great effort and many cuts, curses and grunts of pain, Yami managed to climb his way back up, half dragging, half carrying Bakura along with him. It was a long, painful climb, that no doubt didn't serve to help his injuries but as he'd climbed he'd been able to finally hear the tell tale sirens off in the distance. Help was coming and that gave him the extra pushes needed to keep him going. Anzu was near the edge watching him struggle and reached down to help him up, the both of them managing to get Bakura up as well before they collapsed beside his body panting weakly with the strain of the entire night.**_

* * *

"And...that's basically it" he sighed a little, glancing towards Yuugi who was silently staring off across the rooftop though at some point had taken Yami's hand and was holding onto him tightly. Yami smiled a little and relaxed against him, feeling a little better now that he had shared the story with him though if he was being honest he had expected a little bit more of a reaction.

"That...that was some summer then" Yuugi muttered weakly, "But Yami I still don't understand. The way you said you found Bakura and the injuries he had...some dont meet up?"

He blinked, surprised a little he'd noticed but slowly nodded and gave his hand a small squeeze, "I later found out that his initial fall hadn't been that serious...that it was the cabinets falling down later and some hard hitting him that had caused most of the damage...and when Bakura awoke he told me the entire story, well after he yelled at me for being so darn stupid in the first place"

"What did he say?" Yuugi asked, Yami hesitating for a moment.

"Anzu had found him. She'd been the one to knock down the cabinets and thrown down the drawers" he paused for a moment, "She'd taken my mother's necklace. That's why they kept fighting. Bakura was known for being a thief. I had automatically blamed him and he'd been trying to get her to give him the necklace back...he told her earlier that day he had the evidence to prove it was her. She must have just panicked, seen him helpless and lashed out…Yuugi?" he stood up as Yuugi had, the smaller boy shaking his head slightly before turning and smiling weakly.

"I just...I need to hear this part from Bakura but… Yami thank you for sharing with me"

Yami nodded slightly, watching as Yuugi ran across the roof before he sat down and stared down at the nearby puddle suddenly feeling helpless. He hadn't shared this to make Yuugi mad, he'd wanted to make him understand why he'd reacted as he had. He'd even held back some of the details. Anzu wasn't acting as her normal self that day, he was aware of that and it wasn't him making excuses for her. Blackmail could cause people to act out in irrational ways.

He knew that better than anyone.

* * *

 **A.N**

*runs and hides*

Bakura's POV is in next chapter ^.^


	8. Chapter 8

I'm sorry Anzu _ Seriously!

Again - Text _**written like this**_ is flashback :)

* * *

Ryou stood leaning against the wall, watching slightly in amusement as Bakura struggled to get undressed. The issue was if he stretched too far then he'd end up in pain. This resulted in him now sitting trying to rip his shirt off in frustration, his pride too high to ask for help. After a few more moments of just enjoying the sight, Ryou walked over and softly smiled.

"Do you want me to help now?" he asked. The last time he'd asked he'd gotten his head bitten off straight away. This time though Bakura sat watching him silently for a moment before giving the smallest of nods, Ryou smiling as he gently pulled off the shirt for him, frowning at the blood that marked his dressing. "Your wound reopened? Hmm let me change that"

"You want to? It should be fine till Seto annoys me with a doctor" he shrugged but allowed Ryou to guide him over into his bathroom, sitting on the edge of the bath as Ryou pulled out the first aid kit.

"Hmm it might get infected. You have to be careful with these type of injuries...your struggling wouldn't have helped"

"Well you took your time offering to help" he pouted slightly, Ryou laughing a little as he knelt down and started to remove the dressing.

"I did offer and almost got my head bitten off. Oh don't flinch that didn't hurt" he smirked, Bakura ruffling his hair lazily.

"Thank you" he smiled a little, Ryou humming softly as he gently washed out the wound and redressed the wound for him,

"There we go. All better" he smiled and stepped back to admire his work, following Bakura's gaze as he realised he'd been looking towards the doorway, Ryou gasping slightly as Yuugi stood soaked to the bone, looking as though he was on the verge of tears. Ryou grabbed a towel and wrapped it around his friends shoulders, Bakura dragging himself to his feet and following them back to the bedroom as Ryou sat Yuugi down.

"Yami spoke to you then" Bakura said, Ryou glancing between them in confusion as Yuugi gave a small nod.

"I need to hear your side too though...if you don't mind...there's some parts that make no sense" Yuugi frowned a little, gripping almost painfully onto Ryou's wrist as he stared down at the ground, Bakura limping over to sit beside Ryou.

"Alright I'll try and fill in the blanks. Where do you want me to start from?"

"The beginning of that day...the day the earthquake struck…" Yuugi answered and leant into Ryou's side, Ryou gently rubbing his back as he tried to help calm his friend down though he still had no idea as to why his friend was this shaken up. Just what questions had Yuugi asked Yami? And Bakura's side to what story? He frowned and turned to Bakura, realising that the other male had been watching him and suddenly hoping that his cheeks were not as hot as he suddenly felt. Bakura continued to watch him for a few moments, as though deciding if he was allowed to stay and listen to what he had to say. Finally though his gaze went to the ceiling as he laid back and begun his story.

"The day the earthquake struck...alright then"

* * *

 _ **This would now be the ninth day that he had to go over to her house and drop off a change of clothes. He hoped to god that he was just being paranoid because his mind kept screaming at him that Yami was being held in that house against his will but that was just crazy right? Even Anzu wasn't that crazy...erm well. He frowned as he paused outside the house, the perfect little garden pissing him off for reasons he couldn't put words to. Carefully he crossed over to one of the windows and peered inside, his mind relaxing somewhat as he saw Yami sitting looking bored as he flicked through the various channels on the Tv. Of course he'd not be able to fucking talk to him because the psycho bitch seemed to see him as a threat...or something. He wasn't sure what the hell was going on anymore. This entire summer vacation had been one weird event after the other.**_

 _ **The guards were getting anxious, he could almost feel them wanting to taser him and ask questions later. The Sennen family also saw him as a bad influence on their precious little heir. Sighing, he hurried over to the door and rang the code he and Anzu had came up with back with they hadn't been almost ripping one another's throats out, the girl answering the door with a bright smile.**_

" _ **Ah Bakura. You have a change of clothes again?"**_

" _ **More than that" he smirked and took glee in the look of worry that crossed over her face. Ah that was amazing and he had yet to even tell her. Still smirking he handed over the bag before pulling out his phone, Anzu's and his voice sounding across the silence.**_

" _ **You fucking took it bitch. Now where is it? It was his mother's. Are you really so desperately after his riches that you'd keep it?"**_

" _ **I have no idea what your on about Bakura. We all know you took the necklace. Once a thief always a thief. Your sad little lies are going to land you straight back on that island...and this time I'll make sure Yami doesn't come running to save you"**_

" _ **What the fuck did I ever do to you that you're determined to pin this shit on me?"**_

" _ **...you're in the way….and I didn't take it. He gave me it"**_

" _ **Sure that's why he's been searching for it. That's why he's not talking to me. That's why you keep fucking blaming me. You took it! You just admitted to it… So where the fuck is it?**_

 _ **He smirked as he turned off the recording, Anzu looking as though she'd gone as pale as a ghost before she stepped out and slammed the door shut behind her, gazing around for any signs of the guards she knew followed Bakura and Yami around before glaring directly towards Bakura who pulled the most innocent look that he could manage.**_

" _ **What are you playing at!?" she hissed, Bakura shaking his head as he took a few steps away from her. The girl was looking as though she might kill him.**_

" _ **Yami comes home tonight or I give this recording to his father. I'm getting tired of the games Anzu. I don't fucking love Yami. So stop thinking I'm out to get you… Just stop fucking hurting him alright? He loves you for some god damn reason. Hopefully one day he'll wake up and sees the fucking light before it's too late" with that he turned to leave, flinching slightly as something hit the back of his head, his eyes glancing at the ground and lighting with amusement as he realised she'd thrown her shoe at him**_

 _ **Well that was a first.**_

* * *

"Is that too far back?" Bakura asked, for now ignoring the questioning look Ryou was giving him and concentrating fully on Yuugi. He was doing this for Yami's sake. He had to help him and Yuugi get to understand one another a little better, for both of their darn sakes. Yami had been shaken up that day. Maybe Yuugi could get through to him.

"Nope. That's fine. Anzu took a necklace that belonged to Yami's mother?"

"His real mother yes. He's suppose to give that to his betrothed so I guessed that's what she'd taken it for. She'd been trying to blame it on me all summer so by that day I wasn't in the best of moods...and I hadn't seen Yami for about nine days. It was all rather strange"

"So...what happened next? There was an earthquake?" Ryou asked softly. Bakura nodding slowly as he closed his eyes. This part he really didn't want to tell. He hated showing any type of weakness to anyone but for Yami's darn sake he guessed he had no fucking choice. He opened his eyes again as he felt Ryou playing with his hair and that helped him to relax slightly as he slowly begun his story again.

* * *

 _ **Gods above this summer was proving to be boring. It had gotten to the point that he was laid in his bedroom actually doing some of his homework, a frown on his face as he tried to translate the words into English. Sighing, he rolled over and stared up at the ceiling, listening as the wind howled outside. It sounded as though the storm was getting worse and yet Yami still wasn't home. Maybe he should try phoning him again? He sat up as there was a knock at his door.**_

" _ **Erm" he blinked slightly confused as he wasn't used to people being polite, "Come in?"**_

" _ **Are you alright Bakura?". It was Yami's grandfather, the man gazing at him in concern before giving a friendly smile, "I was just about to put on some snacks for the night. Some warm food could be nice"**_

" _ **You're doing it?" he frowned slightly wondering why he wouldn't just ask the servants to do it for him? The old man laughed a little, shaking his head.**_

" _ **I'm bored and I wish to cook. Would you like something?"**_

" _ **I'll come and help" he smiled as he pulled himself up to his feet, "It's the least I can do. Besides homework is annoying". He smiled, Yami's grandfather laughing a little as he opened the door again and nodded.**_

" _ **I'd like that. I know my son shuts you out a lot Bakura but you're free to talk to me whenever you wish" he smiled and pulled Bakura into a tight hug, Bakura blinking a little as he was pulled into the hug, tensing up, half ready to fight but managing to restrain himself. The man smiled and lead him off down towards the kitchens, Bakura following after him in slight confusion. God's this family was complicated. "And for what it's worth I don't believe that you took the necklace". Bakura paused then, standing in the doorway as he watched him. This old man was believing him when even Yami was doubting him? Still it was nice to know. He smiled weakly, taking a few steps inside before freezing as the entire building appeared to shake, Yami's grandfather gasping slightly. "Is..is this an earthquake? Quick Bakura" he yelled and started towards the door to the basement, Bakura half way inside the kitchen when the shaking had increased, "Get to the basement"**_

 _ **Easier said than done. It felt as though the entire house was now shaking, the sound of wood and stone cracking being heard all around. He cried out as a deep crack begun to form on the ground, rushing over and pushing Yami's grandfather towards the basement door as the entire kitchen floor caved in beneath him. He hadn't quite expected that and couldn't help but scream as he fell down into the basement along with the floor from the room about, a sharp scream of pain escaping as he felt a something hard digging hard into his shoulder. Grunting in pain he rolled onto his side and tried to pulled himself off whatever was digging into him, the rumbled of the earthquake still shaking heavily around him. He glanced over just as Yami's grandfather ran down into the basement, crying out in horror as a wall of rubble began to fall down from above. In desperation he reached out to try and push the old man away, knowing he'd come down to help him but it was too late. Instead his arm was soon crushed out a mountain of rubble and by the sound of the strangled scream from the other side of the wall, Yami's grandfather hadn't been able to avoid the falling debris.**_

 _ **Fuck. Fuck fuck fuck! Yami left him with one fucking task and he went and fucked it up and holy gods his arm was fucking crushed. God this hurt. Which meant he was in more trouble than he'd hoped. His pain tolerance had always been praised as being quite high. If that was a thing to be praised? Ah who cared. With his free hand he begun to try and dig through the rubble that was crushing his hand, now and then calling out to see if anyone was nearby before half yelping as more of the above room begun to rain down on him. As duel monster cards rained down around him he gave a weak feeble laugh as he realised it was Yami's bedroom that was now about to kill him. Fantastic. He laid staring up at the bookcase that had been gradually rolling its way closer to the edge of the hole, shutting his eyes tightly as it finally fell towards him, the last thing he saw was a couple of old books before he blacked out.**_

 _ **Fucking hell if he survived this Yami was never reading again.**_

* * *

"You tried to save him" Yuugi smiled weakly, Bakura gazing towards him before smiling weakly.

"You seem almost surprised by that", he sighed before frowning as he realised that Ryou had been braiding his hair. He gazed up at the smaller version of himself, Ryou giving him a soft smile.

"Hmm sorry I found this sort of relaxing" he smiled, Bakura giving a slight nod before gazing back at Yuugi who seemed to be lost in his own thoughts before sighing as there was a knock on the door. Three loud knocks followed by two softer ones, Bakura sitting up slightly.

"That's Yami" he said glancing at Yuugi who bit at his lip a little, "Shall I let him in?"

"I'll do it" he muttered and slipped off the bed, opening the door and gazing up at Yami who seemed a little surprised at first to see him there. They stood there for a few moments longer before Yuugi took hold of Yami's wrist and lead him silently over to the bed to sit down, "I told you I wanted to hear Bakura's side of things" he muttered softly, Yami giving a slight nod before gazing back at Bakura, a slight look of amusement breaking through his worried expression as he noticed the tiny braids that now were present in half of his hair.

"Having fun princess?" he smirked, Bakura glaring at him slightly.

"Shut it" he grumbled, "Why are you here anyway?"

"I was looking for Yuugi...how far are you into your story then?"

"I just blacked out after the quake struck and your stupid books tried to clobber me" he smirked slightly Yami laughing a little before nodding.

"Yeah I remember you burning all my books when we got back home", he grinned as Ryou and Yuugi both let out small laughs, Bakura shaking his head as he shut his eyes again.

"You lot are trying to drive me insane. Shall I continue then?" he asked mainly Yuugi as he was sure the next part was what Yuugi was really interested in even if it was going to be the hardest part for him to talk about. Yami and Ryou glanced at Yuugi who had leant into Yami's side by now.

"Yeah, you can go on"

* * *

 _ **The sound of dripping on wood was what woke him from his darkness. His head was pounding, his shoulder was aching and whenever he tried to move more pain just shot through his back. He groaned and shut his eyes tightly again for a split moment before frowning as his wristband began to beep angrily. Sure. It was his fucking fault he'd fallen and damaged the peice of crap.**_

" _ **Oh fuck up!" he snapped before reaching down for his pocket with his free hand, hoping that maybe his phone had survived. Perhaps if he could phone for help? Opening his eyes he became slowly aware of how much water had begun to gather around him. He could see the sky from here and the heavens had started to pour down. Oh so either he was eventually crushed or would drown? Lovely. Hey least it wasn't a fire. He was tired of those. He smiled as his fingers clasped around the phone, pulling it up and sighing. It was still intact but he had no signal. Fantastic. How much time had passed anyway?**_

" _ **Hello? Hello is...is anyone there?"**_

 _ **Anzu? Oh great it had to be her.**_

" _ **Anzu!" he cried out before gasping in pain. Fuck everything hurt, "Anzu down here - just be careful.**_

 _ **He screwed his eyes up a little as he gazed up at the hole, the girls head popping over before she gasped a little.**_

" _ **Oh wow...what happened? Are you okay?" she glanced around for a way to get down, Bakura shutting his eyes as a new wave of pain washed through him. When he next opened them he gazed up to see Anzu gone. Sighing he went back to trying to dig his trapped arm free before yelping a little as Anzu landed beside him.**_

" _ **Where did you come from?" he whispered, Anzu smiling.**_

" _ **A dancer has to be flexible right?, she hummed softly and glanced around his body before kneeling beside him, Bakura frowning a little as she took hold of his phone, easily prying it from his hand. She hummed and took a few steps away, "Now to get rid of that message"**_

" _ **...does that really matter at the moment? Anzu, I won't fucking tell him but help me out here", fuck why did his arm have to be trapped like this. He could barely move at all and Anzu wasn't looking as though she was going to help him anytime soon. Though...if she was here…**_

" _ **Ya-" he half yelled out before growling as a hand was clamped over his mouth, Anzu glaring down at him.**_

" _ **Sush. I'll get you out soon enough" she whispered, "just let me get rid of this first" she smiled as she flicked through his phone, Bakura glaring up at her as he tried to resummon the energy to cry out. God his body ached and Anzu was beginning to scare him a little. "Alright got it" she hummed as she handed him back his phone, bakura frowning slightly before laughing.**_

" _ **You wiped the entire thing? Wow Anzu" he closed his eyes again as the throbbing pain in the back of his mind threatened to cause him to black out again, "Just get me out now...Anzu!"**_

 _ **He groaned as he opened up his eyes again as all the air was suddenly knocked up of him, Anzu staring down at him from where she sat on his chest, "Before I do I need you to agree to a few conditions"**_

" _ **You're fucking crazy" he whispered weakly, Anzu shrugging slightly.**_

" _ **Bakura, you never do know when you should just be quiet do you?" she smirked a little before gazing up as there was a grumble above, Bakura moving his head slightly to see what new fresh hell was headed his way, "It's still not safe here so you better listen to me quickly. I'll let you out on the condition that you vanish once and for all from Yami's life. You've been a blight on his life ever since you first appeared"**_

" _ **And you're all fucking rainbows and unicorns" he hissed back, Anzu gazing at him in surprise before sighing.**_

" _ **Your pride is literally going to get you killed" she climbed off and moved to start climbing out, Bakura reaching over and grabbing hold of her ankle. Fucking hell this was not happening right now. His shoulder flared up in pain once more at the movement but like or not this bitch was his only way out of this place alive. This was why he hated humans.**_

" _ **If Yami wants rid of me I'll leave. Till that happens though I'm stuck with him. Kinda what we agreed on. You may believe that I've been trying to come between you guys but I haven't. I just wanted you to return that necklace", gods above he hated having to explain himself to most people but he couldn't even know if his words were even getting through to her, "Anzu he fucking loves you. So stop thinking that there's anything trying to come between you guys"**_

" _ **Let go!" she snapped and kicked him roughly away. He gasped and yelled out weakly as his head hit against something hard, the world starting to grow fuzzy around him. He dimly saw Anzu kneel beside him, lifting his head a little before hearing her gasp as she pulled back her hands and stared at the blood, "B-bakura...no… no I can't… I can't..I'm sorry" she whispered and he saw her running off back towards the nearby rubble. Head throbbing he fought to hold onto his conscious mind. Fucking hell today was proving to be one of the worst he'd experienced in a long time. He felt his eyes slowly closing over again only for them to snap open as the cabinets that had been sitting on the edge of the gap fell down from the kitchen, the plates and glasses contained within, shattering with the impact, the odd pieces digging into his skin. Fantastic. Fan fucking...where the fuck was Anzu?**_

 _ **He groaned, the blackness still appearing at the corner of his vision. Come on Bakura. You've been through more than this shit. Well maybe not. Fuck. His head hurt, his one means of getting out had to want him dead. He was one lucky bastard alright. His eyes focused on movement above before widening as he realized it was Anzu, currently pushing the dining table closer to the gap. You have got to be kidding. She actually wanted him dead?**_

" _ **...you should never have left that island Bakura" she said so low he could barely hear, his fucking tracker beeping in annoyance as though it was that she'd wished dead. Still. He couldn't summon the energy to scream out as the table finally fell down, one of the legs landing harshing on his leg, though it was the chairs that followed that scared the shit out of him, one hitting hard into his chest, knocking the wind out of him and threatening to make him black out again. Somehow, he held on, staring at the gap above and hoping to god she was gone. All his energy was now going towards the name that he was now going to call out. His one last attempt of living…**_

" _ **Yami!" he cried out before pulling his arm up over his head as more of the kitchen floor gave way above him. For a moment there was silence, fear building up inside of him before…**_

" _ **Kura! Kura where are you?"**_

" _ **Ask Anzu" he managed to shout out before his head finally gave out, the blackness filling his vision once more. If he survived this he was avoiding kitchens with basements forever.**_

* * *

"I believe that fills all the gaps then?" Bakura muttered after a few moments of silence, "I'm sure Yami already told you how he found me right?"

"Yeah I told him the rest" Yami muttered, hugging Yuugi close to his side, "It's just...heeh nevermind" he shrugged, Yuugi sighing and kicking his legs out infront of him as he lost himself back in his thoughts. Bakura slowly sat up, frowning as he realised his entire hair was now braided in multiple tiny plaits, Ryou beaming proudly at his work.

"Anyways" Bakura started, grabbing a hair tie and tying his hair back, "Let's go and get something to eat shall we?"

Yuugi nodded slowly, watching as Ryou pulled over Bakura's wheelchair. "Thank you guys..for telling me everything. Listening to the stories of that day I get the feeling it's not really a topic you both like to talk about much"

"Not even Seto knows the full story" Bakura muttered as he allowed Ryou to help him into his chair, "He just arrived at the hospital and yelled at us a little. Yami only told him what he needed to know and I just remained quiet. Seto and I used to argue a hell of a lot more than we do currently"

"Kura, you sound like you argue with everyone" Ryou hummed, Bakura glaring up at him as Yami laughed softly, moving to open the door for them all with Yuugi holding silently onto his wrist.

"Let's just go and get something to eat. Tomorrow's going to be a long day"

* * *

And now for some peaceful moments before... mawhaha :3

Also ~ sorry if it's obvious Ryou/Bakura are my favorite, I'm trying to work on that ^^;


	9. Chapter 9

Enjoy!

Moment of peace for nows :)

* * *

"This place is fucking massive!"

Marik yelled the last word so his voice echoed around the large concert hall they entered the stage, Ryou taking a few steps towards the edge, growing even paler if that was possible. Yuugi and Marik glanced towards him in slight concern though it was Bakura who limped over, taking him by the arm gently off to one side, allowing the other two pairs to get lost in their excitement again.

"It's going to be full to the brim too" Melvin laughed as he watched Marik run across the stage, examining the guitars that were laid out, "Those are just for practice. Ours are in in our room already"

"I see. Hey show me around" he grinned and grabbed onto Melvin's arm, almost bouncing on the balls of his feet in excitement. After everything that had occurred in the last week Marik was just allowing himself to stop worrying and to get lost in this excitement. This was much better than winning those tickets. A part of his mind wondered about if all this would have ever been possible if Ryou and Bakura hadn't been taken that day but he usually shut the thought down as quickly as he thought it. It was wrong but this was so right. He grinned and half pulled Melvin towards the stairs, aware of the look that Seto was now giving them but no longer caring. Melvin seemed to have the same thought as he shrugged, pulled Marik into his side and wrapped his arm around his shoulders as they walked out across the dance floor

"Alright. Where would you like to see?" he hummed softly, "This is one of the Kaiba's buildings so of course everything to big, grand and full to the brim with the latest technology". He fell into talking about the various areas of the building, mentioning where they could get food, pointing out fire exits and toilets as they passed through Marik's mind was wondering slightly. Melvin continued, only stopping once he became aware that Marik was no longer listening. "Alright. Spill. What's worrying you?"

Marik sighed and leant on the nearby railings. Emotions were something he kept buried deep inside till Yuugi or Ryou dug them out but both of his friends were rightfully preoccupied at the moment. Yuugi was worried at Yami and after seeing the way he'd been after speaking to his father Marik could understand that, and here he thought he was the only one with father issues - apparently they all did, and Ryou was worrying over tonight's concert. He'd been looking forward to this night and wanted to enjoy it, wanted to push his fears to the back of his mind but he couldn't. He glanced up at Melvin who was quietly just watching him. "It's silly" he begun, one hand wrapping around the sun pendant he wore, "I just can't shake this feeling that something bad is going to happen...It's been almost a week now and we've just went back to acting as though nothing happened…"

"Are you scared?" Melvin asked, Marik having not quite expected that to be the question.

"No", and he wasn't, not for himself at least, "I just don't think you three are as safe as you may think"

"Seto has the best security on the case, Bakura is royally fucked off and I'm not really that pleased either" Melvin frowned, "But I think you have be jumping to conclusions. Mai is no doubt trying to scare us but whatever she has planned, it'll be stupid to do so in front of this many witnesses...so come on. Enjoy the next four days. Today's our last practice then we have three nights. I just hope Ryou handles it well"

Marik blinked and followed Melvin's gaze back towards the stage as Ryou's voice broke through the silence, Bakura standing next to him, half leaning on him for support. Ryou's voice was a lot more gentle than Bakura's, he'd be mouthing the song tonight but it was still nice to hear him singing along to the soft song, Bakura now and then joining in. Marik sighed and gazed back at Melvin before shaking his head. "Ryou is a lot tougher than he looks. I think the concert will be a roaring success" he giggled happily before frowning as Melvin's phone beeped, the blonde glaring down at the message, "Was that Mai again?"

He sighed and turned the phone so he could see the message.

 _The games shall begin in five nights time. Enjoy your last concert boys_

"What the fuck does that even mean?" Marik snapped, well aware of the threat behind the words but feeling the need for an outburst, "Does she enjoy playing with people's lives?"

Melvin smirked a little at the word choice, taking hold of Marik's wrist again as he set off back towards the other, "She loves games with high risk. Lives are the highest of the high right?"

* * *

"Five nights time" Yami muttered softly before sighing, gazing towards Ryou and Bakura who obviously hadn't heard his phone since both boys were still singing and laughing together now and then. Yuugi of course had read the message and now stood with a frown on his face which was the reason as to why Yami had sighed. He wanted everyone to enjoy the next few days. To him they deserved a little break.

"Your father's here" he heard Yuugi say, Yamis eyes shifting from the laughing pair of teens and over to the older man who was currently watching Bakura and Ryou with obvious dislike. Yami, took a deep breath, felt the squeeze on his hand from Yuugi which he returned before walking out to meet with his dad, the images of the previous night flashing through his mind. He was aware Seto had joined him. No doubt his cousin wanted to avoid a repeat of the previous life.

"How's preparations going then?" His father asked when they were close enough, Yami nodding slowly. Yip. Let's pretend last night never happened. And people wondered why he was so fond of games. He'd been playing them ever since his mother had passed away.

"Going well father" he replied as sickly sweet as he could manage, perhaps a little too much by the look Seto threw towards him, "If you stick around I'm sure you'll be able to see our practice season".

"I might for a little while. Your mother is still wanting you to come home" he paused and shifted his gaze back over to the stage, Yuugi and Marik now having joined Ryou and Bakura, "This particular game is beginning to grow old"

"I won last night father. Therefore I do not need to go home. I thank mother for her concern though….is that everything?"

"Pegasus wishes for a video call at some point today"

"Little busy at the moment" Yami snapped, Seto then stepping between father and son with a tired expression.

"I shall arrange a meeting. Mr Senne though may we please continue with our practice?"

The older man stood and examined them for a few moments before nodding slowly, taking them both in before he turned to go and find a seat, Yami holding onto his head slightly before turning to glare at Seto.

"Arrange a meeting? I'm not talking to that man"

"It's Bakura he wishes to speak with" Seto sighed, holding up a hand, "I shall allow Bakura to decide so do not give me that look Yami. Balancing all three of your family issues is proving to be annoying. Least Melvin's are simple!"

Yami gave a weak smile. He was thankful for his cousin's help, without it life would have been a lot tougher for them all and he knew at times he could take that for granted. "Sorry Seto. Shall we get ready then? Is Rebecca here yet?". He blinked as Seto nodded, a slight smirk forming.

"Good idea. Let's see how good she is on Ryou"

* * *

He was in love with himself. Fuck.

That was the thought that past through his mind as he and Ryou stood side by side gazing into a mirror, the only real obvious difference being their height. Beside Ryou Rebecca stood with a smirk, waving a makeup brush between her fingers.

"Told you big brother, nothing shall escape my magic"

"Aha" Bakura nodded slowly, frowning at the pout that Ryou was now pulling. That just looked wrong. He sighed and turned to his smaller self, tilting his chin up and trying to spot anything different. Other than the faint pink in his cheeks though he had to admit...his little sister was amazing. Ryou blushed more as he took a few steps away, Rebecca humming happily before running over and wrapping her arms around Bakura's waist. It had been a while since they'd last met he guessed.

"How are you Becs?", he asked, gently stroking at her hair though his attention was still upon Ryou who had walked over to yell at Marik and Yuugi who were finding this whole fair amusing. Ryou still looked better and cuter in his own self but he pulled off Bakura's look quite well.

"Lonely without you….you guys need to throw more concerts" she giggled and hugged into him tightly again, Bakura sighing a little but allowing it. Only her and maybe now Ryou would get away with such close contact.

"Concerts are exhausting though", he smirked a little, "Though I suppose I get a break for this one. Is your grandfather still watching you then?" he sat down and pulled the girl into her lap, still keeping Ryou within his sights. Rebecca followed his gaze and giggled a little.

"Grandfather would love to see you. Wanna come visit? I'm sure Ryou will be welcomed too" she hummed, Bakura playing with the end of her hair as he thought. It was a little risky but he would like to see the old man again. Theirs had been one foster home that he had enjoyed. He gazed up as Ryou walked over.

"Ryou. Want to come with me and Rebecca later? After practice of course" he asked and tried to ignore how strange the puzzled expression looked on his face. His mirror leant on the back of the sofa, holding his chin in his hand as he slowly nodded.

"Alright I'll come. Will Seto allow it?"

"Yuugi and Yami are going to his grandfather's tonight so I'm sure he'll be fine with it" he yawned, Rebecca nodding a little before she stood up.

"Good luck for the practice" she giggled and skipped off happily, Bakura sighing as he leant back and closed his eyes, only to reopen them as Ryou sat in his lap, Bakura giving him a curious look before realising that they were now the only ones still inside the dressing room. With that knowledge he relaxed and gently pulled Ryou down against his chest, resting his head over his with a soft sigh.

"Your nervous arn't you?", he felt a slight nod against his chest, Bakura running his fingers through his hair gently, "You'll be fine. Just follow Yami's lead. He and Melvin will look after you and I'll be backstage okays?", another silent nod and Bakura fell silent as well, not sure on what else to say. Ryou though seemed to be relaxing in his arms though so perhaps it was working. "We should head up to the stage soon though" he muttered softly, frowning as Ryou's grip increased on his shirt, "Alright ten more minutes then" he chuckled a little, kissing the top of his head before leaning back to relax as well, smiling slightly. This wasn't so bad. Ten minutes soon passed and it was with a bit of annoyance that Bakura gently shook Ryou. "Come on we should head up now" he sighed and pulled them both to their feet, half leaning on his smaller counterpart as pain shot through his side. He may be healing well but walking was still rather painful. He sighed a little, Ryou wrapping an arm around his waist before gently beginning to walk towards the stage area.

"Thanks Bakura" Ryou whispered, Bakura glancing down at him before shrugging.

"You're the one who's helping me out" he paused as they got to the stairs, Yami standing at the top with Yuugi though he turned as he heard their approach, a small smile forming as Bakura untangled himself from Ryou and gave him a gentle shove towards the staircase, "I'll go sit with the grumpy one"

"I'll come too" Yuugi laughed slightly before turning to Yami, "You look after Ryou"

"And you make sure Bakura stays out of trouble" Yami responded, Ryou and Bakura glaring at them both.

"Will do" Yuugi nodded and walked down to Bakura as Ryou gazed out towards the stage nervously, Yami taking his wrist and half pulling him forwards.

"Come on"

* * *

Ryou was exhausted. How was he expected to do this for the next three nights? Still, he felt as though it had gone well. He'd made only one mistake and Yami had covered it up rather quickly so only he and Melvin really recognised and he guessed Bakura would have too. Now, he sat on the edge of the stage watching as Seto spoke to a group of background dancers who had just arrived. They were roughly through half of the planned act and all Ryou wanted to do was sleep for a few hours. He sighed and placed his head into his hands, jumping at the sudden coolness against his cheek, Bakura smirking slightly as he handed him over the can of cola.

"You did good" he smirked, taking a spot next to him as Ryou happily popped open the can and gulped down the cool liquid. Oh that tasted so good.

"Thanks!", he smiled brightly in gratitude for both the cola and the praise, Bakura simply nodding and gazing out across the dance floor. Ryou hummed happily, sipping on the drink happily, Yuugi and Yami soon joining them to sit on the stage while the sound of the drum kit being used alerted them to the face Melvin and Marik were beginning to get bored. Thankfully at least Melvin knew how to play so the noise wasn't too bad as it fell into a quick rhythm, Marik cheering Melvin on. Bakura sighed and leant into Ryou's side, Ryou gazing at him in a confused manner. Why was he acting as though he was tired? "You cannot be tired" he muttered softly, Bakura laughing a little.

"And why not? I'm still healing" he smirked softly, Yami rolling his eyes as he sipped on the drink that Yuugi had handed to him.

"You're just using that as an excuse" he muttered, Bakura shrugging and closing his eyes though he sat up as he felt Ryou tense.

All four sat staring towards the ground Seto and Yami's father were speaking with, particularly towards one of the lead background dancers who stood looking through messages on her phone. Anzu. As though sensing she was being watched she gazed up and gave a big wave towards them, Yuugi automatically returning it, though Ryou and the others remained still, her face changing to a look of confusion before she shrugged and returned back to her phone. Bakura was silently watching Yami though must have decided he was okay as he closed his eyes and rested back against Ryou once more. Ryou giggled a little, watching him for a moment before glancing towards Yami and Yuugi who had fallen back into polite conversation. Good. It didn't seem as though Anzu was going to ruin this for them, least not easily. Still, if Seto was aware of at least some of their history with the girl it seemed like such an oversight to not make sure she wasn't in the group with the dance group, though Seto was looking more than a little annoyed.

"Alright" Melvin grumped from behind them, "Break times now over"

"Someone's bored", Yami laughed slightly, pulling himself to his feet and helping Yuugi to his own, Ryou gently pushing Bakura off his shoulder, "Alright we'll get back to it" he laughed and helped Bakura to his feet, Ryou jumping to his own and stretching a little. As well was the practice session was going he couldn't help but still feel a little nervous. Gazing out across the hall he tried to picture the vast amount of people who would soon fill this area, butterflies dancing deep down inside of him. Taking a deep breath he turned around and almost yelped as he bumped into Anzu, the girl giving him a small smile before grabbing hold of his wrist.

"I feel like we need to talk a little, Bakura"

"Wha?" he gasped a little as she pulled him down a few of the stairs. Didn't she realise he was a little shorter than normal? Still, he didn't want to cause any more issues so force his face to settle into the best impression of Bakura's bored look, leaning back against the wall as Anzu paused. While she wasn't looking he moved up one step. Hopefully that'd help to hide the height difference a little more.

"I won't keep you long. I just wanted to let you know that I spoke to Yami last night", she crossed her arms a little, "Though I bet he told you everything. Look. I'm not happy with what I did back then but I do want to try and get Yami back...so don't get in my way"

Ryou blinked a little but otherwise didn't react. Maybe he'd been watching Bakura a little too long but it was seeming easy to act this bored to the underlying threat in her words. She looked annoyed by his lack of reaction though and took a few steps towards him. Taking that as a sign to say something he wondered if he was even any good at sounding like Bakura. His voice was deeper and more rough than his own. He doubted he could pull it off though so he just shrugged and tried not to react as a long finger was pressed against his chest.

"Did you hear me?" she frowned and Ryou let out a soft sigh, gently pushing her away and turning to walk back up the stairs, sighing a little as he spotted Bakura hiding behind the curtain looking concerned. He shrugged and walked out into the middle of the stage, Yami and Melvin already set up and waiting. He apologized and allowed Rebecca to touch up his makeup, still aware of Bakura watching him from where he hid. God pretending to be his idol was going to be more difficult than he thought. Thankfully it wasn't too out of character for Bakura to be silent.

"You okay?" Yami whispered in concern, Ryou nodding slowly as he took his place, the back ground dancers moving onto the stage behind them as Seto stood watched from below.

"Alright second half then. Let's keep this going strong" he frowned as he took his seat, Marik and Yuugi sitting beside him silently as the music started up once more. Ryou couldn't wait now to go out with Bakura later. He needed a break away from this. Anzu had shaken him up slightly but he was trying not to think about that too much, needing most of his concentration to remain focused on behaving as Bakura would, especially now with outside witnesses around. If he was this nervous with a couple of background dancers then tomorrow night was going to exhaust him. He'd be glad when this was all over.

* * *

Thanks all :P


	10. Chapter 10

More Character Development! *runs away*

* * *

"This is where you live?"

Yuugi froze for a moment, turning towards Yami who stood examining the outside of the game shop with curiosity. Yuugi felt suddenly a little silly of taking a pop idol to such a small shop.

"Y-yeah I live here with my grandfather and mother" he spoke softly, feeling a little worried, Yami smiling at him softly.

"There's no reason to feel so shy. I like it" he smiled at the blush that filled Yuugi's cheek, Yuugi quickly running over to the front door and unlocking it for them, stepping back to allow Yami into the shop. It was a little late, almost eight in the afternoon but both Yami and Bakura had pestered Seto to allow them out of the mansion and after Bakura threatened to burn the mansion down Seto had finally given in. Yuugi watched as Yami picked up a box of dueling cards, examining the back of the box as Yuugi crossed into the kitchen, his mother looking up from her plate of food in surprise.

"Yuugi? Oh you came home?"

"I wanted to show Yami something… is grandfather around?" he blinked and gazed around the room, his mother tilting her head slightly before gasping as Yami appeared behind Yuugi.

"Oh!" she smiled brightly, Yuugi resisting the urge to roll his eyes, "This is Yami? I didn't realise… do you need anything to drink? Eat?" she quickly asked Yami as she stood and crossed to the fridge, frowning at the lack of contents, Yami watching her with a slight amused look on his face as he shook his head.

"We ate before we came. My cousin wouldn't allow us to leave otherwise. Thank you though" he politely replied, Yuugi smiling weakly. Seto had been a little crazed when everyone had decided that they wished to leave the safety of the mansion and nobody wanted to push him even closer to insanity.

"Oh, okays well it's nice to meet you" she smiled and shook his hand, Yami nodding slightly.

"Likewise...you have a wonderful son, Miss"

Blushing, Yuugi gently begun to push Yami back towards the door as he let off a nervous laugh.

"Anyways we...we'll be up in my room mum. When grandfather gets back let us know okays?" he called after him and grabbed onto Yami's hand as he lead him upstairs and into his small bedroom, leaning back against the door in relief as Yami watched him with a curious expression before crossing over to the bed and sitting on the edge silently. Yuugi took a few quiet moments to collect himself, grateful for Yami not saying anything. He opened his eyes and took a few steps towards the bed, smiling down at him. "Sorry about that. Mum's a little forward...I wish grandfather was here though he'd love to meet you too" he paused before giggling softly, "That sounds so strange"

"It's okays" he shrugged a little, eyes roaming around the small room, which after staying at Seto's for so long Yuugi was aware of how small it really was. Yuugi watched Yami for a little while before deciding to sit at his desk that sat below the window, reaching into his drawer.

"This was what I wanted to show you" he muttered, feeling that Yami had moved and was now leaning on the chair as he watched him, Yuugi placing a golden box onto the table before opening the top and smiling, "It's a puzzle. I've been working on solving it for about four years now... I was thinking you'd be able to help?" he blinked as he gazed up at Yami, half expecting him to laugh but feeling a warm happiness at the look of fascination in the older teens eyes instead. Silently he reached down and picked up the half finished puzzle, turning it in his hands before smirking at Yuugi.

"This thing has taken you four years?"

"It's a lot harder than it looks Yami!" he pouted and gestured towards the small pieces of gold that laid across his desk in various shapes and sizes, "These all fit together to form what I now know to be a pyramid. My grandfather gave it to me and said if I ever managed to solve it he'd reward me with something special" he smiled weakly, "It's a little foolish but I really want to know what that gift is...and he's not getting any younger" he whispered the last few words as he hated admitting even to himself about how frail the man was getting. His grandfather meant the world to him. Yami smiled and gently squeezed his shoulder, grabbing a beanbag and tossing himself in it as he knelt to be at the same level as the desk.

"Then I shall do my best to help" he smiled at Yuugi who blushed a little before leaning over and kissing Yami's cheek, turning quickly back to the puzzle as Yami froze in shock for a few seconds before smiling and examining the puzzle pieces. Yuugi leant over and turned on the radio which they both began to softly sing along to as they worked on the puzzle together, pausing now and then to argue over where they thought certain pieces where to go before falling into laughter at how petty their arguments could be. Overall it was proving to be a much more enjoyable night than the previous and by the time the clock was hitting midnight and Yuugi was feeling his eyes becoming heavy, Yami had called Seto to let him know he was staying at Yuugi's for the night before forcing his smaller self towards the bathroom to shower before bed. When Yuugi came back out he examined the puzzle and smiled a little at the progress they had made. It'd been a good idea to ask Yami after all.

"...where are you going to sleep?" he muttered, glancing at Yami who shrugged.

"I can pull a few bean bags together and make a bed?"

"You're too tall for that" he sighed and shook his head, "Take the bed. I can sleep on the beanbags. You need your rest for tomorrow anyway. Seto will murder me if you're even a tiny bit tired"

"Ryou's the one who'll be tired tomorrow" Yami yawned, Yuugi blushing brightly as he stripped down to his boxers before climbing into the bed. He could have bloody waited till the lights were out!

"W-what makes you say that?", he asked as he pulled the bean bags together into a cluster by the side of his bed, Yami laying on his side watching him.

"Bakura is very picky about the places he sleeps and the people he sleeps around. I doubt he'll let Ryou sleep if he can't is all… Yuugi that looks rather uncomfortable. Come share with me" he paused as Yuugi gave a squeak and fell backwards, "...I won't do anything I promise" he added with a slight frown, Yuugi pulling himself up, feeling how hot his cheeks where as he glared towards the man laying so innocently in his bed.

"I-I didn't say that I thought you would!" he gasped out before taking a deep and calming breath. Laughing nervously he turned off the lights before climbing into bed next to Yami, Yami moving back to give him as much room as he needed though moved back towards the middle when it became apparently that Yuugi was wanting the extra warmth. As warm arms wrapped around him Yuugi was quite surprised to find himself soon drifting off to sleep as he felt more safe and secure than any other emotion. Yami on his part laid watching him for a few minutes longer before resting his head onto of Yuugi's hair and drifting off into his own dreamland.

* * *

"I can help" Ryou smiled brightly, Bakura watching as he ran off into the kitchen to help Rebecca made the cups of coffee that Arthur had requested. Now alone with the old man, bakura could sense his questioning glance.

"What?" he muttered, Arthur laughing softly as he relaxed back in his armchair, watching Bakura through the top of his glasses.

"It's been awhile since I've seen you looking this relaxed"

"Relaxed?" he blinked a little, "I'm not - okay maybe a little but this place has always felt nicer than the others. I'm sorry I didn't come and visit more often"

"Yami kept me informed of your well being. However after that earthquake it would have been nice for you to have visited. I wasn't aware you'd be whisked off back to Egypt so quickly or I'd have attempted to visit"

"Trust me. Neither of us wanted that" he chuckled weakly, taking the cup of coffee offered to him by Ryou who hummed happily as he sat beside him, sipping on his own green tea with a happy look on his face. Bakura rolled his eyes slightly as he sipped on his own black coffee, smirking at just the tint of sugar he could taste. Ryou was beginning to know him pretty well.

"Lord Senne was rather protective after that then?" Arthur asked, Bakura shrugging, "We were home taught afterwards, drove Yami insane. We met Melvin when he attempted to rob us… was all fun and games. But eventually we got Kaiba to fly us out here, Yami came up with the band idea and lives been alright" he paused for a moment as Arthur softly laughed, "I just realised you talk to that ass"

"Nothing you have ever told me before has ever left this house, has it?" he smiled as Bakura slowly shook his head, "Then you're free to speak about whatever you wish. It did upset me when the authorities took you away back then. If I had managed to adopt…"

"Don't… seriously nothing that happened could have been avoided… trust me when I say dwelling on the past can drive you insane" he frowned into his coffee cup, aware of Ryou's questioning glance but really not wanted any more depressing past stories right before the concert. No. He was here to relax, to show Ryou off to - wait what? Why the heck was he wanting to show Ryou off to Arthur? Why the fuck would he care how anyone saw Ryou? He frowned in sudden annoyance, hardly noticing as Arthur turned towards the humming Ryou.

"So Ryou, are you two dating?"

Both boys choked on their drinks, Ryou blushing brightly as Bakura tried to find his voice but failed, Arthur laughing weakly at the response.

"I'm sorry if I got the wrong idea"

"We#ve only known one another for about a week" Ryou begun to explain, having seemingly recovered before Bakura, "We've become really close in that time though I guess" he smiled and sipped on his tea as Bakura watched him with a small smile, placing his own cup down now that he had managed to burn his throat. He took the glass of water offered to him by Rebecca as Ryou sat back up.

"Can I ask something?" he begun, glancing at Bakura as though awaiting for permission, getting a silent nod as an answer, "When did you last live here?"

"He was here for about a year between the ages of seven and eight...this was the last foster home before-"

"Before events leading up to my adoption"Bakura cut in with a soft smirk, "This was my last home but the authorities were worried about my influence on Rebecca. One little shop lifting event and they're out to get you"

"You stole diamonds Bakura. I think most seven year olds steal candy" Arthur sighed but gave a small smile, Bakura glancing at Ryou, slightly worried about how he may react but relaxed at the small amused smile he wore. Ryou was seemingly just as complicated as himself.

"Candy was too easy" Bakura laughed weakly before yawning, "Oh that's right. Arthur you should come to the concert one night. It's running for three nights"

"You'd want an old man there" he smiled softly, "I shall come on the Sunday event then. Rebecca was nagging me to go to. I am grateful Kaiba hired her"

"She's a makeup wizard" Ryou hummed softly, both Bakura and Rebecca laughing softly.

The plesent conversation continued for a few more hours as Bakura caught up with Arthur and Rebecca and as questions were fired towards poor Ryou who by the end of the night had fallen to sleep against Bakura's side. Given permission to stay the night, Bakura lifted Ryou up into his arms and followed Rebecca over into the guest room, telling her to keep the lights off since he didn't want to awaken Ryou. Gently he laid him on the bed before turning to say goodnight to Rebecca, watching as she ran off before moving Ryou in over the covers, laying beside him onto of the duvet and just watching him sleep for a few moments.

Was he actually growing softer? That was risky. He knew his family would use those he cared for to get to him, he knew it was such a huge risk to open himself up to possible pain but...gods above he was actually falling for this boy wasn't he? Sighing, he leant over and softly kissed his forehead, Ryou's eyes fluttering slowly open, gazing at him in a confused manner before smiling.

"Did I fall asleep?" he muttered, Bakura only managing to nod, "Hmm sorry. I must have been more tired than I thought...guess we should both sleep though" he yawned before frowning, "Are you hot?"

"Huh?" god darn it. Ryou had too much effect on him. He also looked just that little bit cuter when half dozing.

"You're lying above the covers" he explained, "Come under or you'll catch a cold" he paused before smirking, "unless you think I'll get up to anything?"

Bakura laughed weakly before taking off his jeans and climbing in under the covers, "Like you're awake enough anyways" he yawned and puffed up his pillow, not complaining as Ryou rolled in against his uninjured side. Reaching down he gently played with his hair as he watched the ceiling, his mind trying to work out just what the heck was going on inside of him at the moment. He felt somewhat relaxed. When was that ever a thing? Frowning, he gazed down at the sleeping boy pressed up against his side and gently wrapped an arm around his waist as he closed his eyes to get some needed sleep. He'd talk to Yami about all this emotional crap tomorrow at some point he guessed.

* * *

"Your sister hates me" Melvin was laughing before grunting as Marik threw another pillow at him to set on the bed. They'd been given the guest room that was right next door to Isis' bedroom, the woman wanting to be able to listen out for any 'funny business'.

"She's a tad over protective is all" Marik sighed a little. He'd known it would be a bad idea to take Melvin to his house but since the others had sort of done it he felt he should too. He wasn't too sure on how Melvin felt about it all. No doubt he thought it was a useless event, even if Marik had been nervous. His father was away on a business trip though so with only his sister to deal with the night had been rather pleasent, even with the dirty looks his sister threw towards Melvin now and then.

"I think it's cute" Melvin commented, Marik feeling his cheeks burn up as he the another pillow towards his idol, "She can sense I'm dangerous. Perhaps we should tell her about our rooftop adventures?"

"Oh! No no! Don't you fucking dare Melvin!" he sighed and flopped onto his side of the bed, staring up at the ceiling, "I mean it she'll never let me out the house again"

"Is there a reason she's so protective or is it just a sister thing?" Melvin asked as he laid on his side and watched him, Marik frowning a little as he continued to look up at the ceiling, wondering just how to explain.

"She's always been this way but after mother died it got worse. It was an accident that could have been avoided… mother was rather reckless just like me so I guess at times I can remind her of me?", he rolled onto his side and watched Melvin, smiling slightly as the other did look generally interested in listening to what was being said, "She became the mature one in the house. Father's… he's not reliable and I've never been one to follow rules. Sis took over all that stuff...I suppose we somewhat forced her to grow up before her time"

"I see" he nodded slightly, "Well she must care for you a lot then. She has every right to be weary of me" he smirked, Marik laughing weakly.

"Oh? It's not as if you're suddenly going to make me vanish from her life"

"Maybe one day I might" he smirked, Marik blinking, searching his face for any type of amusement. Melviin was being serious? Now that he thought on it he knew very little about Melvin. Out of all three of the band members he'd given the least amount of information out to the press, infact reporters used to find both he and Bakura annoying to interview, though Bakura would answer a few questions while Melvin would have the habit of falling silent or just walking off, poor Yami having to make everything alright again. He smiled a little. Those three had a really strange but close friendship, not too far from what he had with Yuugi and Ryou he guessed though at times he did feel as though he was in the way there too. Yuugi and Ryou had been friends long before they had met him and Yuugi had been the one Ryou had ran to when his family had started to fall apart. Marik wouldn't hold any of that against him but it did hurt a little. He wanted to be that reliable too, though Yuugi was better at it. He sighed and climbed under the covers, his mood darkened by his own thoughts.

"Well you can't" he finally muttered, Melvin turning off the lights before climbing in beside him.

"You're not mad at me. You're over thinking about something else" he muttered and Marik glared off into the darkness, annoyed by how simple he seemed to be to read to everyone. Growling, he turned and let off a muffled yelp as he was pulled into a warm embrace, Melvin chuckling above him, "Do you want to talk? Sleep when something's on your mind can be difficult to get"

"Do you ever get jealous of your friends?" he finally muttered, shutting his eyes so he wouldn't have to see Melvin's reaction of how pathetic he was sounding. He was surprised when he was pulled closer inside, slow circles being rubbed into his back.

"Course. Those two are close, have been through a lot of shit together but I don't doubt my place with them" he frowned slightly, "Do you doubt yours?"

He blinked a little. Did he? He sighed and closed his eyes for a moment before slowly shaking his head. He knew that Yuugi and Ryou had both accept him with open arms, even when he had tried to keep them away at first, had gotten them all into trouble in more than one occasion and almost got himself and Ryou in hospital at least a few time, with how reckless they could both be at times. He smiled slightly at some of the memories that floated through his mind and he must have started to relax as Melvin was no longer rubbing circles into his back. He sighed and relaxed into the warm embrace, trying to will himself to fall off back to sleep, slightly surprised to have been able to find this level of comfort from Melvin of all people.

* * *

It felt as though this was yet another test of his patience, which over the course of the last seven days had been stretched almost to breaking point. Why the idiots all had suddenly decided they had to go out tonight and spend the entire night outside the safety of the mansion he couldn't even try to understand. He'd received that same message like the rest of them. It just felt as if he was the only one trying to take anything serious at the moment. For now he paused from the random email he'd been trying to type out for the last hour, having to keep restarting whenever his anger had reached a certain peak. Seto Kaiba was not in a good mood. For any sane person this meant avoiding him as much as possible. Yet. Here Jou was, placing a cup of coffee on a coaster on the side of Seto's table as though he hadn't just waltzed in uninvited, placing a plate of riceballs next to it before settling into a chair off to the side of the room and reading through a magazine he'd bought along with him apparently. Seto frowned, nibbling on one of the riceballs as he studied Jou.

"...and who let you in?"

"Your brother" he simply replied, flicking to another page of his magazine, "When I phoned up the house he told me you'd be here all night cause of the mood you were in. So I bought you something to keep you going" he glanced up towards him, Seto frowning slightly before shrugging and returning back to the email. He had no idea what his little brother was up to but he made a mental note to have a stern word with him once he got home. Seto didn't require any type of babysitter. He sighed and glanced back over at Jou who was just sitting silently reading his magazine. It was sort of strange to see him being so quiet as Seto was more used to him jumping around all noisy and energetically annoying. He'd came along to a few of the dance practices too and had been a great help with getting Ryou and Bakura out of bed in the mornings.

"I still don't like you being here"

"Then kick me out"

"I should" he returned back to typing a few more sentences before sighing and closing over the lid, "...maybe I should head home" he frowned and glanced down at his phone, the time showing it just gone past eleven. The office was closer to the concert hall than the mansion. It'd make more sense to stay here, "...why are you out so late?"

"Delivering food to you" Jou shrugged slightly before yawning, "Beside's I bought tickets for that concert months ago. I'll be going to the show tomorrow and there's a hotel close by that's pretty cheap when booked six months in advance"

"...you took the tickets from Ryou didn't you?"

"Maybe?" he grinned and sat up, "Well that lot don't need them. Beside's they won really nice rooms. Be a shame to let them go to waste" he shrugged and picked up his coat, "You coming?" he called back as he opened up the door, again acting as if he owned the place rather than being the annoying intruder that he was. Seto tapped his fingers on the edge of his desk as he tried to think on what it was that he wanted to do, other than kick this annoying man into the middle of next wek.

"Are you asking me along to your hotel room?" he asked with more than a hint of amusement, trying to make Jou uncomfortable and for a moment he had a small victory as he saw the blush of pink that filled the blondes cheeks as he turned towards him with a flustered look.

"I told the others I'd look after you and - and that's what I am going to do!" he snapped, Seto raising an eyebrow as he lifted his briefcase and walked over towards him, "So...so come on" he blinked and took a few steps outside the office and into the hallway as though just noticing how close Seto had been, the older man quickly deciding that perhaps the night wouldn't be so boring after all. Jou may annoy him but he could also provide some much needed entertainment, or so it would seem.

"If it's a double bed you're sleeping on the floor" was all he said as he passed by him and made his way down the hallway, chuckling softly at the half strangled scream of annoyance that came from the blonde behind him. He walked out into the waiting car and for a moment was tempted to drive away but decided to wait on Jou who did seem a little surprised as he climbed into the back of the car and gave the direction for the hotel.

"I can't believe you're agreeing to this" he finally muttered, Seto pulling his laptop back up with a shrug.

"Keeps everyone happy enough. These concerts must go off without a hutch. If the cost for that is staying a night in a high class hotel with a scruff like you then I'll take it". He smirked, watching over the top of the laptop as Jou tried hard to contain his growing annoyance. Yip. Tonight was going to be amusing.


	11. Chapter 11

Hope this was worth the wait! Sorry - Euroshipping has stolen my bloody mind atm so it's hard to write other ships... trying though!

* * *

Why did he ever agree to this?

At the moment Ryou stood peeking behind the curtains into the darkness of the crowd in front of them, trying not to flinch every time he saw the flash of a camera and trying not to swing around and punch Bakura in the face for looking for too amused. Why was he doing this again? This was crazy. There was no way he was going to be able to pull this off. Bakura was standing now...surely he could just go on stage instead? He glanced back up at his doppelganger who just smirked and kissed his cheek, making him blush and turn off to one side quickly as he knew at least Yami had just seen that. How did he feel about Bakura anyway? That was another question that had been going through his mind ever since earlier that morning when he'd woken up in his arms and felt the most secure he had in years. He sighed and closed his eyes, trying to calm down his nerves at least a little. Deal with one conflicting issue at a time.

"Alright five minutes till showtime then".

Seto's voice broke through the silence that had been so welcoming, Ryou turning to gaze towards him, Mokuba giving him a small encouraging smile. Nope. No. he couldn't do this! Why had he ever agreed to this? If he was being truthful it was because he wanted to be useful. He wanted to help Bakura. He wanted to spend more time with him…

"I can't" he whispered weakly, Bakura rolling his eyes slightly.

"Give us like three minutes" he said, not giving anyone time to respond before he grabbed hold of Ryou's arm tightly and dragged him off to the side of the stage, Ryou squeaking slightly as he was pinned up against the wall, all breath knocked out of him as he fought weakly to be let go again. Bakura though held him tightly by the shoulders, his head down as he took deep breaths.

"Kura...wha-" Ryou begun but the rest of the words were swallowed by the lips suddenly over his own. Arms now free to move, he found them moving to wrap around the waist of the man in front of him as he shyly and somewhat confused and dazed returned the motion. He could feel his cheeks heating up as Bakura pulled back, looking just as confused for a moment before that confident smirk was back on his face.

"Better?"

"...confused" he admitted before finding himself grinning, Bakura tilting his head slightly before also smiling and pulling him into a tight hug.

"You'll do good. Yami and Melvin have your back. If it's too much tonight though I'll cover the next two nights somehow...so just do your best alright?" he smiled with such softness that Ryou reached out and pulled him back for another hug, relaxing against him as he gave a small nod, words still seeming to fail him at the moment as his lips continued to burn with the passion from their short kiss. Bakura thankfully seemed to realise that he needed this so held him gently, glancing off to one side though as the chants from the audience begun to pick up in volume. "I think our three minutes are up now" he whispered, gazing down at Ryou with concern. Ryou smiled, leaning up for another quick kiss before smirking at the confused expression on Bakura's face, as he hurried off to join Yami and Melvin. If Bakura's intentions had been to lift his spirits then he had succeeded. He was still rather nervous, over more than one issue now but alot happier than he had been only moments before. Melvin had a look written on his face that suggested he knew just what had happened but Ryou just smiled and turned to face the stage as Seto waited for Yami's signal to begin.

The chanting was getting louder and Ryou was beginning to feel as though he wanted to shy away again. He was suppose to be playing the part of an over confident asshole though, a thought that made him chuckle a little as he glanced at Yami and gave a slight nod, hand tightening around his guitar as Yami nodded to Seto, the backing track slowly starting up as the crowd in front of them let off a roaring cheer.

"Just take a deep breath" he smiled, Ryou nodding very slowly, giving one last look towards where Bakura lent against the wall, before urging himself forwards when the lights suddenly flooded the stage, Melvin laughing at his side as Yami automatically burst out singing. Why did Bakura have to be the backing singer?

Despite the nerves and the growing desire to run back over to Bakura and just hide behind him for the rest of the night, he was feeling that old sense of determination wash through him, numbing down the fear as he stepped out infront and tried not to flinch at the screaming of Bakura's name, though a small smirk did form on his face as he started to mouth along to the music. All these people could yell out his name all they wished but he was the one who still had the lingering taste of their idols kiss upon his lips. If that had been done to distract him then it had bloody worked. Instead of feeling nervous as he fell into step with Melvin and Yami, his body moved almost automatically when his head was away over thinking about other things. Had that kiss meant anything or was it the other males attempt at just causing a distraction? He'd onlt known him for about a week now but he was very much aware of just how much Bakura did not deal with emotions. He used actions to convey how he felt, what he wanted. So, going by that logic…

He sighed a little and wondered upfront to mouth along to the one song in tonight's line up that Bakura was the lead singer and writer of. This was the part that terrified him the most and they were changing the song each night to. Cause he didn't have enough on his mind or anything. For a moment he stood and allowed the backing track to start up, gazing out across the crowd in slight awe. Only now did he begin to wonder as to why this had been Yami's idea. Why would be start up a band who's every action would be watched when all three of them were such private individuals? Opening his mouth, he allowed those thoughts to fade aware as he concentrated on his current task.

"I'm not coming back, I'm not gonna react, I'm not doing shit for you

I'm not sitting around while you are tearing it down around us

I'm not living a lie while you swim in denial

'Cause you're already dead and gone

You'll leave me out on the curb just like everyone else before you

Welcome to my world

Where everyone I ever need always ends up leaving me alone

Another lesson burned and I'm drowning in the ashes

Kicking, screaming, welcome to my world

I don't care what you think, I'm not seeing a shrink, I'm not doing this again

I'm not another student or a mother to take your shit out on

So let's see what you got and let's see what you're not

And whatever else you pretend

You've defended my intentions long enough

Welcome to my world

Where everyone I ever need always ends up leaving me alone

Another lesson burned and I'm drowning in the ashes

Kicking, screaming, welcome to my world

So here I am again, in the middle of the end

The choice I wish I'd made, I always make too late

Welcome to my world

Where everyone I ever need always ends up leaving me alone

Another lesson burned and I'm drowning in the ashes

Kicking, screaming, welcome to my world

My world, my world, to my world

My world, my world, to my world

My world, welcome, baby"

Listening to the words he could almost picture Bakura as he sat writing it. The words...they truly were about him and yet vague enough that most fans would probably never pick up on it. This would just be another random song sung by a band they loved. He wondered if there were other songs with as much meaning to the other members too and made a small note to himself to listen to more of their songs once he got back to the hotel that night. He really was lucky to have this chance to get to know them all on such a personal level - even if he was being slightly biased towards one certain member. It took every ounce of self control not to beam as he finished the song, instead managing to keep the somewhat bored expression that Bakura so often wore before beaming as he turned around, Yami laughing slightly as the curtains pulled down in front of them, Bakura walking over and pulling him into a tight hug silently. Ryou sighed a little but wrapped his arms around his waist and closed his eyes happily. This was a thank you. He'd need to learn how to read these unspoken words it seemed. To their credit, Melvin and Yami allowed them to have their moment before Yami finally walked over and laid a hand on Ryou's shoulder, smiling at him softly as Bakura slowly let him go.

"You did good. You okay?".

"Exhausted" Ryou laughed happily, tying his hair back out his face. Sweat was making it stick annoyingly to his face. "I need a shower" he added as an after thought, blushing slightly at the laugh he received though the attention was thankfully soon away from him as Yuugi and Marik arrived to steal their other halves - along with a pleased looking Seto. A lot of surprising things seemed to be happening tonight. He smiled a little as he watched them, squeaking as he felt himself being tugged away, Bakura's grip on his wrist almost painful as he walked towards the changing room. Curious, he allowed himself to be pulled along, though doubted he would have been able to pull away even if he tried. This was a death grip - almost as if Bakura was afraid of him pulling away.

It was rather out of character and scared him a little but he remained quiet and hurried to keep up with the pace. Since none of the others had rushed after them he was taking that to mean he was safe. Well - he never really felt in danger around Bakura, even given the trouble the seemed to follow him like a shadow. Half stumbling inside the room, he flinched a little as the door was slammed shut behind them and did begin to grow more than a little nervous at the click of the lock.

"K-kura?" he whispered. Maybe this had been a bad idea after all? Maybe he'd done something wrong? He couldn't think of anything, though his mind was rapidly trying to go through the entire concert, trying to map every movement he'd made - trying to find a fault that would have resulted in this reaction. All that effort flew out his mind though as one again he found himself pinned up against the wall, hot desperate lips covering his own as he tried to remember just how to breath. Unexpected, but not unwelcome - he reached out and wrapped his arms around Bakura's waist, pulling him closer, giving him permission to be there, letting him know he wanted this too though his cheeks did burn as Bakura rubbed against him, very obviously aroused. With a soft moan he broke apart their kiss, seeming just to stand and watch as Ryou panted for air and tried to regain some degree of control back over his mind and body.

"I love you"

He gasped at the three simple words, staring at the pop idol in front of him, taking in just how vulnerable he was suddenly looking as he dropped his gaze and glanced off to one side. Ryou was pretty sure this was a sight only he would ever have the pleasure of seeing. Smiling, he reached out and ran his fingers slowly along Bakura's jawline until he finally was looking back at him, confusion filling his eyes. No doubt because of the tears now trailing down Ryou's cheeks.

"R-ryou?"

"I love you too" he simply smiled before throwing himself against the taller boy's chest and breaking into silent sobs. He felt bad for this reaction but he couldn't help it. He'd been feeling alone for the majority of his life. He'd never really heard those three words from his family never mind something who meant the world to him like this. Bakura though just held him, running his fingers through his hair, untying it to get to more as he sank into the sofa and pulled him up into his arms. Ryou pressed close and curled up, making a note to himself to somehow make up for this messy reply. He was just glad Bakura wasn't annoyed by him, or if he was he was doing a really good job at hiding it.

* * *

"Should we go after them?"

Yami blinked, gazing down at Yuugi who was gazing after the retreating backs of their friends. He smiled and kissed the boy's cheek, shaking his head slowly.

"I wouldn't worry. Bakura won't harm him"

"I know just - he looked so serious" he frowned slightly but turned to hug back into Yami who silently began running his fingers through his hair, watching as Melvin and Marik wondered off someplace he no doubt didn't want to know were.

"Try and have everyone return back to the hotel at a reasonable time" Seto sighed and handed over a phone, Yami frowning slightly. Since when did he have to be the babysitter, "We have three more nights to do and then the fun begins by the sound of things" he motioned at the phone, Yami flipping the screen and looking through the messages with a slight scrowl, Yuugi shifting slightly to read when he felt him tensing.

 _Enjoy your last few nights together. Holding onto hope you don't deserve to hold. Allow us to tear that illusion apart. You'll belong to us before this month is out. Keep your treasures close - unless you wish to lose them._

"...so that's a threat if I've ever heard one" Yami muttered, passing the phone back to Seto who sighed slightly.

"Security is to be increased. All six of you are to _never_ be alone got it?" He sighed and help onto the side of his head for a moment, "I have the best men looking for Mai… I don't know who else is involved though - is Anzu?"

"Maybe. But we have no proof" Yami sighed, "I'll just avoid her. Yuugi too" he shot a glance at the smaller male who nodded his agreement, "I'll round up the others and warn them. You should be careful too Seto...Mai knows how important you are to us all"

"Don't get too sentimental now" was the mans reply as he turned and quickly left, Jou and Mokuba hurrying after him.

"...guess the two albinos are closest" Yami sighed a little, taking hold of Yuugi's hand and slowly making their way towards the dressing room, the words of the message swimming around in his mind. He had an incline that when the day came where they all started dating that there would be a few crazed fans out there who wouldn't take the news well but this seemed a tad more - serious. These were people who were after them from the start and who now seemed to be targeting those around them as well. It worried him and he automatically pulled Yuugi closer into his side as though afraid that he was about to be stolen away there and then. Yuugi gazed up at him but remained silent as they walked, both pausing outside the dressing room door as they heard the sound of crying from inside. He really didn't want to need to do this. He could make a good guess as to why Bakura had dragged Ryou away, as to why his friend was becoming more and more possessive over the other boy and why he'd been acting so strange recently. This is the way he acted when he was trying to open up to someone new, when he was opening himself up to possible rejection. It wasn't something he did all that often and the results could be rather hard for Yami to deal with if there a negative result. Judging by the crying and lack of yelling - he was willing to bet that things had gone well, that Ryou just let his emotions out through tears where Bakura would have let it out through anger or yelling. They really were polar opposites at times. And he didn't want to intrude. He didn't want to get involved any more than was needed, but he had to.

Sighing, he gave a small knock on the door, knowing full well that it'd be locked. "Kura? We need to talk - sorry but it's important" he spoke quickly but clear - knowing it was important to get the importance of the situation out in the open as quickly as possible to quell any lingering annoyance that his friend was going to have. Sure enough, the locks clicked open and Bakura stood gazing at them with narrowed eyes for a moment before moving aside to let them inside, Ryou bent over a nearby sink currently washing at his face. Bakura sighed as he fell onto the nearby sofa, never removing his eyes from Yami's. Yip his friend was annoyed.

"I wouldn't have came if I didn't need to - but Seto showed me another message" he paused as Ryou wondered over and fell onto the sofa beside Bakura, curling into a ball against his side, Bakura tensing for a moment before wrapping an arm around him and pulling him closer, "The message suggests that whoevers targeting us - is also attacking those near us" he pointly motioned to Yuugi and Ryou, slightly annoyed at the last of response from all three of them. Sometimes he swore his friends did this on purpose to try and drive him closer to insanity. Giving up he sat down and pulled Yuugi into his lap as he waited for any of them to say anything.

"You realise myself and Ryou have already been kidnapped right?" Bakura finally broke the silence, sipping on a glass of water as he watched Yami, "I was already guessing that they may be targeted next - as was Melvin. You may see as as being possessive but can you blame us? Are you wanting to leave Yuugi alone now?" he frowned and glanced at Yuugi, "Though you two still need to talk I guess" he paused then laughed, "Wow I beat you to it. Amazing"

"...only because your patience is next to null" Yami muttered, trying to avoid the questioning look from Yuugi, "Seto wants us all back at the hotel soon...he wants us to be extra careful Bakura"

"Of course" he smirked, playing with the ends of Ryou's hair lazily, "You're underestimating me?"

"You're still injured" he pointed out before dragging himself back to his feet, taking hold of Yuugi's hand, "We'll go warn the other two". Though what he may be walking into involving those two perverts was slightly worrying. He was about ninety percent sure that they wouldn't have confessed to one another yet. He was also ninety percent sure that just because they hadn't admitted their feelings out loud, would not stop them from exploring the possibility of what could be there. Or maybe he was over thinking and would find them in a perfectly innocent situation. Fat chance. Melvin was worse than Bakura when it came to waiting.

"If your going there then I suggest you close your eyes" Bakura laughed softly, "We'll head back soon. Don't worry so much. They said they were allowing us these last few nights of peace so why spend it glancing over our shoulders all the darn time?" he shrugged. Yami sighed. He did have a point but that didn't mean it was a very good one. Just because an unknown group said they'd leave them alone for a few days didn't mean they would. These people were out to hurt them. Why should their word be trusted at all? It surprised him that Bakura of all people seemed so accepting of the time limit - unless he was acting this way in order to stop Ryou and Yuugi from worrying? He suppose that made more sense. Bakura gazed up as they stood up, glancing at Yuugi.

"You're taking him? Well I guess it'll be one heck of a sight"

"We've not to be alone" Yami repiled, smiling as Yuugi hugged close.

"Look after Ryou" the smaller boy hummed happily, Ryou blushing slightly as Bakura rolled his eyes and opened the door for them, smirking as they got to the doorway.

"Hmm don't worry I'll take good care of him".

Yuugi and Yami both stared at the door for a moment, hearing the click as the door was once again locked before hurrying down the corridor, trying not to think too much about what could have possibly been meant by Bakura's last little remark. Yuugi blushed slightly and Yami couldn't help but smile a little. This boy was adorable and he wanted to get to know so much more about him. It was a tad annoying that even the emotionless Bakura had managed to confess his intentions to Ryou before Yami could do the same towards Yuugi. Melvin was a given. He'd take what he wanted. He sighed a little and slowly came to a stop at the bottom of the stairs that lead up towards the roof, Yuugi stopping beside him looking a little concerned and confused - but still having that air of patience as he watched him, waiting for him to explain what was going on. Yet he still hesitated. He was still feeling so darn nervous. What was he suppose to say? His last relationship hadn't exactly ended on a positive note and was still haunting him and yet...and yet he wanted to try again. He took a deep calming breath. If bloody Bakura could do this then so could he. If at least in his own mind he turned this into some type of game then maybe - maybe he could do it? Before he could open his mouth though he found his shirt being tugged down and Yuugi's lips on his own. He gasped a little in surprise before reaching around and pulling his smaller self tight against his chest as he deepened their kiss. Gods above. Yes. Yes he wanted to try again. He didn't care about the past. Okay he did but right now it all seemed so small compared to the unspoken emotions being shared at the moment.

A small whine was his response as Yuugi broke their kiss, the smaller boy blushing a little before giving a small giggle, Yami blushing himself as he realised what he'd just done. Wow - he really had fallen hard for this boy hadn't he?

"So" he paused and coughed slightly, his throat suddenly feeling rather dry as he watched the once again patient boy infront of him, "Do you erm...ahem" again he paused, blushing at the small giggle as Yuugi gave a small smirk.

"Wanna go out together?" he small boy instead asked, Yami laughing a little before nodding and pulling him into a tight hug, "Take that as a yes?"

"Yeah", he hummed happily and nuzzled into the side of his neck. Yeah. Yeah this was what he wanted. Even with the danger, even with the history, even if he didn't deserve this, this was what he wanted and apparently he wasn't the only one. Why should he have to refuse this to himself or to Yuugi just because there was some crazed group out there determined to scare them all half to death? Still. He had to give Yuugi the chance to back away. It was the only right thing. If he started on this pathway he wasn't likely to let him go as easily. Not that letting him go now would be easy either. "Yug...you realise that being with me could be dangerous?" he whispered against the boys skin cause even if he was saying this for a chance of escape he still didn't want to move "If...if you don't want to risk that then-"

"Yami shut up" Yuugi half laughed, tilting his head slightly so he could escape from his grip and gaze up at him instead, "I'm saying I want to be with you. All three of us are very aware of the danger… you guys are so popular. Even without the crazed group who are targeting you - we'd be hated by most of your fans anyway but - we don't care...alright Ryou was worried, Marik seemed pleased by the thought and I just don't really mind. We can all look after ourselves. Let us help look after you guys too" he smiled and pressed close to him, closing his eyes as Yami weakly wrapped him in his arms, "I love you Yami. No matter what happens. Okay?"

He sighed a little, resting his head on top of the others. "Alright" he whispered before smiling, "I love you too Yuugi...Thank you".

* * *

"You're telling me that you love me?" Melvin frowned a little as he leant against the wall watching his frustrated partner, "You barely know me. Like my history would scare you the fuck away" he frowned a little more, watching the nervous way in which Marik was watching him. This was all so out of character for the other male that Melvin wasn't sure how to react to this new information that had been presented before him. He was a man who was either running on an emotional high or static and unemotional. Now though he was just plain confused, regarding the blonde in front of him with calculating eyes. Was he after something? It wasn't hard to guess that he was rich. He was in a popular and well received boy band after all but even as that thought crossed his mind he already knew what the answer to the question was. Marik didn't give a shit about any of that type of thing.

"Yes I bloody am" Marik snapped back making Melvin gaze up back into his eyes, a small smirk forming on the corner of his lips. He was so darn hot when he got frustrated. "D-don't look at me like that either! I'm trying to be serious at the moment!". And he could read him so well too. Darn. Maybe this was love after all? But what the fuck was love anyway? Alright so if he tried to stop and actually think about things, as annoying as a motion as that was, he knew that he'd never felt this - possessive over someone else. Not this strongly. Not this needy. It was annoying in it's own way which is why he refused normally to dwell upon it but now Marik was somewhat forcing him to. God darn it this man was annoying. Annoying and yet the urge to strangle him wasn't there.

"I'm being serious as well" he finally sighed as he pushed himself off from the wall and walked over towards Marik, the wind whipping around them. Having this conversation on a rooftop didn't seem like the best of ideas but well he hadn't thought this was all going to happen. He continued to watch for any hint of fear as he lowered his hand down and pulled Marik up close to him. Seeing none, he wrapped one arm around the boy's waist and shut his eyes as he tried to think of how to put things into words. Melvin preferred actions over words. He always believed too many lies could be hidden so easily with the slightly touch of a tongue one believed to never betray them. Yet here he was, nuzzling into the blonde hair of another human being and actually thinking on trusting them. After only a blasted week? God. Yami and Bakura truly had made him soft it seemed.

"Fine" he grumbled softly, "Let's give this 'love' thing a go". It was the closest he'd admit to his feelings and if Marik truly did understand him, if he truly did get how he was then it would be enough - and the beam of the smile he was receiving from his smaller counterpart apparently meant that he did. He chuckled a little and pulled him back against him as he deeply kissed him, trailing one hand up under his shirt and along the lower half of his chest slowly. He groaned, their kisses always getting carried away so easily but the feeling of eyes on the back of his neck made him growl as he pulled back, Yami and Yuugi standing a short distance away, the smaller of the two half hidden behind Yami as Melvin glared at them, still holding Marik close, still touching his skin. "What" he simply snapped.

"We" Yami coughed "We need to talk" he stated and slowly walked over closer, Melvin growling but finally letting go of Marik who sat down on the edge of the roof silently, trying to hide the faint blush that darkened his cheeks. Oh that was a glorious picture. He was still annoyed at being interrupted but this sight almost made it seem worthwhile. Almost.

"What's so important then?" he asked as he walked over to close the distance, gazing down at the screen when Yami had flicked open the message, "Our treasures?" he frowned, eyes glancing towards Marik and Yuugi who had joined his friends side, "Them?"

"What else could it mean? I've warned Bakura already" Yami sighed and ran a hand through his hair, "Just...and I know how pointless this is even as I say it...but please be careful?"

Yami was right. That was pretty pointless advice. There was nothing at all careful about the way in which Melvin dealt with things and he didn't see that fact changing any time soon. In fact, if there was someone out there who was foolish enough to come after himself of Marik then he almost dared them to try. He'd rip them to shreds and laugh about it later. Marik had more or less just given him permission to do so, to claim his ownership of him and that was what Melvin would gladly do. Some of that intent must have been shown in his eyes because he watched as Yami took a few steps backwards, laughing weakly.

"Anyways I delivered the warning" he laughed nervously, taking hold of Yuugi's hand as he'd ran over to join him, Melvin still slowly advancing on him, enjoying how nervous he was making him, "We'll just be going then"

"Bakura's the main one they should go for" Melvin called out as Yami paused in the doorway that lead down from the roof, "He's injured still and Anzu knows all the right buttons to press… just… keep an eye on him and Ryou alright?"

"Yeah" Yami sighed, glancing back towards them for a moment before disappearing downstairs, Melvin turning back to Marik and tugging him back close to his chest. Like hell anyone was getting anywhere near him.

"Now" he purred slightly, gazing down at the boy in his arms, "Where were we?"


End file.
